The Farmers Mart Apr-May 2018 - Issue 56 | Page 9

FARM NEWS 9 • APR/MAY 2018 NEW ‘PAYPAL’ SYSTEM LAUNCHED TO INCREASE FARMER-TO-FARMER TRADING ONLINE A new farmer-to-farmer online payment system has been launched to streamline payments and ensure buyers and sellers’ monies are protected. FARMPAY, launched by Hectare Agritech, the company behind online trading plat- forms SellMyLivestock and Graindex, guar- antees funds by providing an ‘escrow’-type account which holds monies securely until the deal is completed successfully. The platform is the brainchild of web developer Jamie McInnes and former Mor- ‘ FarmPay removes an obstacle to those who feel more confident working through third parties rather than trading direct ’ risons agriculture manager Andrew Loftus, who said the new system was the ‘logical’ next step for the trading sites. They said they saw FarmPay being to Graindex and SellMyLivestock what PayPal is to Ebay. Mr McInnes said online livestock trading had seen considerable growth in the four years since SellMyLivestock was launched. However, some buyers remained cautious about trading direct with farmers they did not know. “We now have 30,000 farms registered on SellMyLivestock and its sister cereal-trading site Graindex,” said Mr McInnes. “Together these farm businesses listed almost £40 million of livestock and cereals for sale on the platforms in 2017, up from £13m in 2016. £1050.00 75 British Blue X Steers North Yorkshire “FarmPay removes an obstacle to those who feel more confident working through third parties rather than trading direct. The buyer’s money is held se- curely in the holding account until they can see the stock on-farm and finalise the purchase. Hectare has secured £3m of investment from investors who have previously backed Uber, Snapchat and Dropbox. £2000.00 2 Pedigree Limousin Bulls South Yorkshire ‘ Farm businesses listed almost £40 million of livestock and cereals for sale on the platforms in 2017, up from £13m in 2016 ’ £400.00 25 Holstein Friesian Steers Lancashire £1800.00 8 Sim X Heifers with Calves Northumberland Over ten thousand head for sale at www.sellmylivestock.co.uk