The Fair Payment Code explained: what Gold, Silver and Bronze really mean

The Fair Payment Code is the UK’s voluntary payment-practice accreditation, run by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) since December 2024, when it replaced the old Prompt Payment Code. Businesses apply - for free - and earn a Gold, Silver or Bronze award by evidencing how quickly they actually pay suppliers: Gold means at least 95% of all invoices paid within 30 days. Awards last two years before a business must reapply with fresh evidence. For suppliers it’s a genuinely useful due-diligence signal; what it isn’t is a guarantee, and it changes none of your rights when an invoice runs late.

From Prompt Payment Code to Fair Payment Code

The old Prompt Payment Code had a credibility problem: signing was a pledge, not proof. The SBC’s redesign flipped that - under the Fair Payment Code, awards are assessed against evidence of actual payment performance, and tiered so the badge says something specific. Applicants must also abide by the Code’s three principles: being clear (transparent terms agreed up front), fair (paying what’s owed, when it’s owed, without games) and collaborative (working with suppliers when problems arise). Take-up has grown steadily since launch - by the Commissioner’s own updates the Code passed 250 awardees at its six-month mark in mid-2025 and had climbed past 400 by 2026, spanning sectors and company sizes.

The three award tiers

Per the SBC’s published criteria:

• Gold - at least 95% of all invoices paid within 30 days.
• Silver - at least 95% of all invoices paid within 60 days, including at least 95% of invoices to small businesses within 30 days.
• Bronze - at least 95% of all invoices paid within 60 days.

Note the design: Silver and Bronze share the same 60-day headline, but Silver adds a hard protection for small suppliers specifically. If you’re a small business reading a customer’s badge, that Silver/Bronze distinction is the one that matters to you.

Who can apply, and what it costs

Any business, of any size and sector, can apply - awards aren’t reserved for large corporates, and plenty of smaller firms use one to signal reliability up the chain. Applications go to the SBC, are assessed against payment evidence, and cost nothing. An award lasts two years, after which the business must reapply with updated evidence - so a current badge reflects reasonably recent behaviour, not ancient history.

There’s a flip side worth acting on: if your own firm pays promptly, applying is free marketing with an official stamp. In tenders and onboarding questionnaires, an FPC award answers the payment-practices question before it’s asked.

What the badge tells you about a customer - and what it doesn’t

When a prospective customer displays the Code, you’ve learned something real: they submitted evidence of their payment performance and the SBC’s assessors accepted it. Use it properly - check the award is current on the SBC’s own list rather than trusting a logo, note the tier, and set your terms and cash-flow expectations accordingly. A Bronze customer paying within 60 days may be honest and slow; price and plan for that.

What the badge doesn’t tell you: that your invoice will be in the 95%, that performance hasn’t slipped since assessment, or anything at all about the many firms - good and bad - that simply haven’t applied to a young, voluntary scheme. Absence of an award is not evidence of a bad payer.

The limits of a voluntary code

The Code has no fines and no compulsion - its teeth are reputational. That’s not nothing (losing an award is a public statement), but it means the Code sits alongside your rights, never in place of them. The compulsory regime is what Parliament is debating now: the Commercial Payments Bill would cap payment terms and make statutory interest automatic, and we cover it - and the wider cost of late payment - in late payments cost UK SMEs £22,000 a year.

Where the Code fits in your credit-control policy

Treat the FPC as one input in a written credit-control routine: check the SBC’s awardee list at onboarding alongside a credit check; agree terms in writing; invoice cleanly; and chase on schedule regardless of badge. When payment does run late on a qualifying commercial debt, your entitlements are unchanged - statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, plus fixed compensation per invoice - and the free late-payment calculator quantifies both and drafts the demand. If the badge and the behaviour part company, escalate like you would with anyone: a letter before action, then professional recovery of the unpaid invoice.

When the badge didn’t stop the late payment

The Code is voluntary; the Commercial Payments Bill is where the compulsory version is heading, and cash flow forecasting is how you measure what either would save you.

Codes shape behaviour; they don’t collect debts. If you’re holding overdue invoices now, compare vetted debt recovery agencies on Collect Compare - blind, on fees, model and specialism, with names hidden until you choose - or let us match you to the right fit. Free for creditors: the agency you choose pays for the introduction.

This is general information, not legal advice. Fair Payment Code criteria and figures are as published by the Small Business Commissioner and may change - check the SBC’s site for the current position.