Lloyds Banking Group is set to discontinue its invoice factoring service for small business clients by the year’s end, as per reports. Invoice factoring involves a business selling its outstanding invoices to another company at a discounted rate in exchange for immediate cash flow, with the purchasing company taking charge of collecting the full payment.
According to the Financial Times, Lloyds is ceasing its practice of buying unpaid invoices from small businesses this week. The Mirror has reached out to Lloyds Banking Group, which encompasses Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland, for further comment. The FT also mentioned that NatWest and Barclays shut down their factoring operations a few years back, while HSBC has recently tightened its service criteria.
In other news, Lloyds has made various significant changes this year. Customers can no longer deposit cheques using a pay-in slip; instead, they must utilize their debit card and PIN for deposits. Additionally, the option to deposit cheques at local Post Offices has been entirely eliminated, requiring customers to visit a Lloyds, Halifax, or Bank of Scotland branch or use mobile banking for cheque deposits.
Moreover, Lloyds has raised the monthly fee for its Club Lloyds packaged bank account from £3 to £5, although the fee is waived if customers deposit £2,000 or more each month. The Club Lloyds account offers various benefits, including one annual lifestyle benefit such as a Disney+ subscription, cinema tickets, a magazine subscription, or discounts on food and drink brands. Customers also gain access to the Club Lloyds Monthly Saver and can receive up to 15% cashback at select retailers. The increased fee also applies to Club Lloyds Silver and Club Lloyds Platinum accounts, with additional charges for these premium account tiers.
On a positive note, Lloyds has eliminated debit card foreign currency fees when transactions are made in the local currency, although fees may still apply if transactions are made in pound sterling.
