The new payments service enables businesses to make one-time vendor payments, goodwill gestures, compensation payouts, refunds, hardship payments, volunteer expenses, and grants, where the beneficiary’s bank details are not known
Lloyds Banking Group headquarters in London, UK. (Credit: Carcharoth/Wikipedia)
UK-based retail and commercial banking company Lloyds Bank has introduced a new payment service, dubbed Lloyds Bank PayMe, to serve businesses of all sectors.
The new payments service can be used for one-time vendor payments, goodwill gestures, compensation payouts, refunds, hardship payments, volunteer expenses, and grants.
It enables businesses to make one-off payments, where the beneficiary’s bank details are not known, and payees can receive the funds within minutes, said the British lender.
Lloyds Bank PayMe eliminates the need for businesses to manage account information or register one-off suppliers.
Once the payment is approved, companies can send a secure link to the beneficiary, through email, SMS or QR code, who are then required to input their account information.
Upon completion of the review and verification process, the beneficiaries will receive the payments, sent directly to their bank accounts.
Lloyds Bank cash management and payments managing director Stephen Everett said: “We’ve developed this service to support our clients in driving efficiencies in their business while further enhancing the customer experience they’re providing.
“Payment solutions in the market today generally use Bacs for a three-day settlement or the need to send a physical cheque.
“Through Lloyds Bank PayMe, companies can send funds to customers, clients, or suppliers easily and within minutes, and no need to capture and store account details for one-off payments.”
The British lender said that its new service will prevent payees from waiting up to three working days to receive the funds.
Together with improved customer service, Lloyds Bank PayMe also provides benefits including reduced cheque issuance and manual processes, and related costs for businesses.
Scottish Water, a statutory corporation that provides water and sewerage services across Scotland, is adopting Lloyds Bank’s new payment service for its service standard payments.
Through Lloyds Bank PayMe, Scottish Water customers can receive payments within the same business day, while the current process often takes seven to 10 days to complete.
Scottish Water corporate affairs director Brian Lironi said: “Our customers are at the heart of what we do, and we want to ensure every engagement with us is excellent.
“We believe that PayMe will provide a huge benefit to our customers in terms of payment times and data handling.
“In circumstances where service standard payments are required, customers will now be able to receive them far faster and in a more convenient manner.”