Lloyds Banking Group will discontinue its invoice factoring service for small businesses by the year’s end, as reported. Invoice factoring involves selling unpaid invoices to another company at a discounted rate in exchange for immediate cash flow, with the purchasing company responsible for collecting the full payment.
According to reports, Lloyds will cease buying unpaid invoices from small businesses this week. Other major banks, including NatWest and Barclays, have already closed their factoring services in previous years, and HSBC has tightened its eligibility criteria for the service.
In addition to this change, Lloyds has implemented significant adjustments this year. Customers are now required to use their debit card and PIN to deposit cheques, as the option to deposit cheques at local Post Offices has been eliminated. Moreover, the monthly fee for the Club Lloyds packaged bank account has increased from £3 to £5, although the fee is waived if customers deposit £2,000 or more monthly.
The Club Lloyds account offers various benefits, including a yearly lifestyle benefit choice, access to the Club Lloyds Monthly Saver, and up to 15% cashback at selected retailers. Additional fees apply to the Club Lloyds Silver and Club Lloyds Platinum accounts, priced at £11.50 and £22.50 per month, respectively.
On a positive note, Lloyds has removed debit card foreign currency fees for transactions made in the local currency. However, if customers opt to pay in pound sterling, fees may still apply.