Sage Payments is a new service from Sage which allows SMEs to manage and make payments direct from their accounts or payroll software.

While the company already enables the accepting of incoming payments through Sage Pay, Sage Payments will enable domestic and international transactions to suppliers and employees.

The introduction of the new service means that SMEs can now control all of their money movements from Sage 50 Accounts or Sage 50 Payroll software.

"Money management has throttled growth for too many businesses who struggle to handle flow of cash in and out of their organisation", said Lee Perkins, EVP and Managing Director of Sage UK.

"Until now, payments have been a significant drain on time for small and medium businesses, with firms spending over 8 staff hours every month making payments.

"With Sage Payments, we are empowering businesses by breaking down age-old financial processes revolutionising the way they make payments and enabling them to take greater control of their cashflow."