Apple Signs On to Obama’s SupplierPay Effort to Speed Payments to Small Suppliers

Apple, Coca-Cola, and about two dozen other companies have signed on to an Obama administration program called SupplierPay. The program is an effort to speed payments to small suppliers or help them get access to lower-cost capital.

The program will "strengthen small businesses by increasing their working capital, so they can grow their businesses and hire more workers," the White House said in a statement. The partnership is the latest effort by Mr. Obama to use White House summits and executive actions to advance his goals while broader initiatives are stalled in Congress. Republicans have chafed at what they consider executive overreach and plan a lawsuit to rein in the White House.

SupplierPay builds on QuickPay, a program the federal government started in 2011. It's goal is to have small-business contractors paid within 15 days of delivering a product or service. This would improve cash flows for small companies and reduce their need to borrow.


SupplierPay is designed to be a private-sector counterpart to the federal programs. Other companies signed on to the effort include: AT&T Inc., Cardinal Health Inc., FedEx Corp., International Business Machines Corp., and Johnson & Johnson.

Read More