Lloyds Banking Group has decided to discontinue its invoice factoring service for small business clients by the year’s end. Invoice factoring involves a business selling its outstanding invoices to another entity at a discounted rate in exchange for immediate cash, with the purchasing company then responsible for collecting the full payment.
According to reports, Lloyds currently purchases unpaid invoices from small businesses, but this service is set to cease this week. The Financial Times has reported that NatWest and Barclays shut down their factoring operations a few years back, while HSBC has recently tightened its eligibility requirements for the service.
In other news, Lloyds has implemented notable changes this year. Customers within the Lloyds Banking Group can no longer deposit cheques using pay-in slips; instead, they must use their debit card and enter their PIN for deposits. Moreover, the option to deposit cheques at local Post Offices has been completely eliminated, necessitating customers to visit Lloyds, Halifax, or Bank of Scotland branches or use mobile banking for cheque deposits.
Furthermore, Lloyds has raised the monthly fee for its Club Lloyds packaged bank account from £3 to £5, although this fee is waived if customers deposit £2,000 or more monthly. Club Lloyds offers various benefits, including a yearly lifestyle benefit choice, access to the Club Lloyds Monthly Saver, and cashback at selected retailers. Additional fees apply for Club Lloyds Silver and Club Lloyds Platinum accounts, priced at £11.50 and £22.50 per month, respectively.
On a positive note, Lloyds has eliminated debit card foreign currency fees for transactions made in the local currency, although fees may still apply if payments are made in pound sterling.