New research by IOE&IT corporate member WorldFirst shows that more than 1.5 million of the UK's SMEs are now involved in international trade, with the value of their imports and exports standing at £78bn per month.
The research shows that SMEs are trading far and wide from China to Costa Rica, although Western Europe remains the most significant trading partner.
The findings come as World First announce the launch of World Account, an international payments platform for SMEs and online sellers. Created to help businesses overcome the hurdles and costs of buying and selling across borders, the World Account delivers international banking functionality on one easy-to-use platform – minus the cost, hassle and upheaval of traditional international business banking.
Commenting on the launch, Jonathan Quin, Co-founder and CEO at WorldFirst said:
“We’re very excited to be launching our World Account, the first multi-currency international payments platform for businesses. Our research shows that over 1.5 million SMEs are trading more than £78 billion a month across international borders. This is a significant contribution to the UK economy. It’s time that small and medium-sized businesses enjoyed the same products, price and service that was only previously available to big businesses.”