The partnership will help Lloyds Bank offer an innovative, market-leading B2B payment solution to its clients, that simplifies paying their suppliers using the Bank’s Commercial Cards. Clients will be able to use the highly secure payments system to improve supplier relationships through the option to offer earlier payment, whilst at the same time benefitting their own working capital position.

The new solution will solve the problem for businesses of how to pay suppliers that do not accept card payments, either because they see little demand from other customers or because the costs involved in getting set up with a Merchant Acquirer are too high.

How it worksThe Bank’s clients will simply request a payment to their supplier from their Commercial Card credit line through the new payment solution. Billhop, acting as a BPSP (bill payment service provider) perform appropriate compliance checks and debit the client’s card account. Billhop then make an electronic funds transfer to the supplier’s bank account. The client then pays their card bill as normal, enjoying up to 59 Days Payable Outstanding.

Proven serviceLloyds Bank and Billhop have already successfully tested the new technology. An initial test payment was made for an existing Bank client. The client was able to make the transaction seamlessly within minutes of being set up on the solution. After the initial success, the client made a second payment to the same supplier, settling a high value invoice of more than €300,000.

James Sykes, Head of Commercial Cards at Lloyds Bank, said:“This is another great example of us leveraging technology to support our corporate customers with innovative payment and working capital solutions.

“By working with Billhop, we can offer our customers a simple, seamless, and secure way to extend the flexibility of their Commercial Card. It helps them manage their working capital, and for their suppliers, it means quicker payment with no enrolment needed.”

Giorgio Giurdanella, Head of Enterprise Growth at Billhop, said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with an industry-leading partner such as Lloyds Bank, who share in our vision of delivering innovative payment solutions to businesses across the UK. Streamlining card payments to suppliers remains an important feature for developing global business, and we believe this partnership will bring a great deal of value to Lloyds Bank corporate customers.”