A long-time rural business leader known for his “get over to Morrinsville” advertising catchphrase is now telling farmers to “go to GrowPay”.

Ross Hyland, who formerly fronted Morrinsville-based stockfood company SealesWinslow, has launched farm finance and payments app GrowPay.

“It’s all about driving better deals for farmers and orchardists,” says Ross. “It’s giving choice.”

The innovative financial services platform has been almost five years in the making.

“There was a real gap in the market,” says Ross.

He says farmers have been feeling “disconnected” from existing options, particularly considering fluctuating cashflows.

Partnering with Mastercard, Heartland Bank, Speirs Finance and Xceda, Ross says the app allows farmers to access a wide range of lending, deposit and marketplace products, allowing them to access capital, while maintaining competitive rates, importantly with terms better aligned with the farmer’s cashflows.

He says GrowPay has already formed a partnership with Mobil and will be launching its own fuel card in coming months.

Partnerships

Other partnerships include Aon Agri for insurance, plus animal health, automotive and ag-chem, along with others as the app builds out its online marketplace.

As part of the digital offering, Ross says farmers will be able to sell agricultural products between themselves, while also accessing purchasing benefits from suppliers due to GrowPay’s ability to aggregate volume.

“The digital wallet also provides for a streamlined payments system,” he says. “This is the first genuine digital farm finance and payments offering in New Zealand that’s specifically targeting farmers, orchardists and the wider agricultural community.

Ross says the app’s lending products include seasonal funding, livestock trading, capital livestock, technology and asset finance loans, with terms and interest rates developed with the lifecycle of farms in mind.

“This helps reduce stresses on farmers and their families.

On the flipside, he says a range of deposit products will be available for cash surpluses, often experienced following harvest, packhouse receipts or killing sheets, allowing surpluses to be put to work.

“GrowPay has farming in its DNA, with a mantra of ‘how can we make farmers’ lives better, how can we deliver better deals, and how can we link our farming communities through the digitisation of agriculture’.

“The digital world is coming and coming fast, but NZ farmers have proven time and time again how they can adapt, roll with the punches and pick up on new technologies.

“The opportunity to make our farms more efficient and more profitable is incredibly exciting, not just for individual farms, but for whole communities and the wider economy.”