Online grain trader adds payment guarantee to members
© Tim Scrivener Graindex, the online grain marketplace, has announced a partnership deal with insurance firm Hokodo to protect its farmer members from financial losses when trading.
The guaranteed payment collection service will be available free for three months, then at a discounted rate, to the site’s premium farmer members who pay £11.99/month for additional trading services.
It will create a guaranteed payment collection service to protect transactions made on the Graindex website.
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Graindex said that one in five business insolvencies were caused by late or non-payment of invoices and the new deal was designed to limit those risks to its online traders.
If the buyer does not settle a guaranteed transaction on time, Graindex can call on Hokodo’s debt collection service, a spokeswoman explained.
“If the debt collection fails, then Graindex stands as guarantor, settling the debt on the buyer’s behalf,” she added.
Graindex and its sister site, SellMyLivestock, have more than 59,000 registered farmer users or about 38% of UK farms.
Over the past 12 months listings across both marketplaces were valued at more than £91m.
How Graindex works
- Grower lists grain for sale: After registering online, the grower fills out the details of the crop for sale. The advertisement is live in a specified trading period. There are two periods – 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm – each day.
- Merchants bid: Merchants then have two hours to place their bids for the grain.
- Review bids: At the end of the trading period the seller has 20 minutes to review bids received, and can accept or decline offers.
- Sale agreed: Once a bid has been accepted, the seller’s details are passed to the merchant who makes contact.