- Visa and Lloyds Bank have said that they will work together to give Europe-based corporate charge clients access to straight-through processing (STP) technology.
- Lloyds Bank said that there will be a number of advantages available to suppliers, including direct payments.
- “It makes conversations around card payments easier, provides more control and insight over the transaction and can help buyers and sellers improve their working capital,” said a spokesperson for Lloyds Bank.
Visa and Lloyds Bank, two big names in the financial sector, have announced a new arrangement designed to boost cross-border payments and remittances.
Financial services conglomerate Visa and UK banking operator Lloyds Bank said that they will work together as part of a push to improve the efficiency of commercial card payments.
European clients using Lloyds Bank’s corporate charge cards will have access to straight-through processing (STP) technology.
The new scheme will let clients decide the time of their payments rather than relying on what they might be offered by a bank transfer.
It comes alongside a number of payments-related innovations designed to help give corporate clients a boost.
Last year, for example, Lloyds debuted Swift gpi Instant, which allowed the firm to offer fast international money transfers as part of the Faster Payments system available in the UK.
The company also offers an application programming interface (API), in which payments can be made without requiring human intervention.
This now processes well over £300m in payments every single month, the bank said.
Lloyds Bank has also been acquiring other firms in recent weeks.
The company bought Embark Group, which operates in the retirement industry, for almost £400m – a development that will majorly enhance its portfolio of assets.
In a statement about the partnership, Lloyds Bank explained more details about what advantages suppliers were likely to derive from the development.
“With STP, buyers can request to time their payments to maximize the number of days before their statement, giving them more flexibility with their cashflow than would be the case with a bank transfer,” it said.
It argued that there would no longer be a need to add card details manually.
“Suppliers benefit by receiving funds directly into their accounts without the need to manually input card details or use card terminals.”
It went on to say that there was potential for the “supplier-initiated payments model” to become outdated.
James Sykes, who serves as head of Commercial Cards at the bank’s Commercial Banking arm, said that there would be an added level of “control and insight” available.
“STP turns the traditional supplier-initiated payments model on its head,” he said.
“It makes conversations around card payments easier, provides more control and insight over the transaction and can help buyers and sellers improve their working capital.”
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