Lloyds Banking Group will 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 entity at a discounted rate in exchange for immediate funds, with the purchasing company assuming responsibility for collecting the full payment.
The decision to end this service was confirmed by Lloyds, which includes Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland. Notably, FT reported that NatWest and Barclays ceased their factoring operations previously, while HSBC has tightened its eligibility criteria for the service.
In addition, Lloyds has implemented significant changes this year. Customers can no longer deposit cheques using a pay-in slip but must now use their debit card and PIN for deposits. Moreover, the option to deposit cheques at Post Offices has been eliminated, necessitating customers to visit specific branches or utilize mobile banking for cheque deposits.
Furthermore, 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 a yearly lifestyle perk, access to the Club Lloyds Monthly Saver, and up to 15% cashback at select retailers. There are also higher-tiered accounts like Club Lloyds Silver and Club Lloyds Platinum, requiring additional fees of £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, though fees may apply if transactions are in pound sterling.
