Over 60,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK will benefit from a new banking and payments offering following a new partnership between banking group, Lloyds and paytech, PayPoint Group.
Merchants can now utilise Lloyds’ services will to further improve how they interact with the PayPoint and Handepay network of merchants. Having been a part of the PayPoint Group since 2021, the new partnership will enable Handepay to accelerate growth across its merchant estates and deliver better tools, support and experience for PayPoint Group’s SME and retailer partners.
Melinda Roylett, managing director, Lloyds Merchant Services said: “Businesses, especially small ones, need simpler and quicker ways to get up and running with payments. That’s why Lloyds Merchant Services has made huge investments in flexible yet robust POS and processing tech, partnerships, funding options and value-added services.
“Already, one in five UK small businesses choose to bank with Lloyds. This expansion of our long-standing partnership with PayPoint Group demonstrates our commitment to serving the UK’s small businesses and retailers, by giving PayPoint’s 60,000 merchant partners the same cutting-edge tech, low-cost services and benefits as large enterprises.”
SME businesses using merchant services arranged by Handepay and PayPoint can now enjoy growth-boosting benefits with Lloyds. These include next-day settlements, a faster onboarding experience, a dedicated app, and additional customer data and insights.
Additionally, the new Handepay Merchant Mobile App allows SME owners to manage every aspect of their businesses’ finances. They can consolidate sales and transaction updates, and summarise sales performance, trends and transaction filters.
Merchants also benefit from the Handepay Loyalty Programme. This gives them access to a range of products and services provided by Handepay and its partners to help them run their business to its full potential.
New services meet industry growth
According to the Lloyds Business Barometer, the new partnership comes at the perfect time. There has been a lot of growth in the SME sector as firms look to expand, with 52 per cent of 1,200 UK companies planning to increase their headcount in the next 12 months.
Nick Wiles, CEO of PayPoint said: “Lloyds is a long-term partner of PayPoint Group and already a trusted provider of business banking and payment services to SMEs. Our expanded partnership represents PayPoint’s continued commitment to bringing the best possible access to growth-boosting partnerships and services for our SME network of over 60,000 businesses.
“This follows the very successful trial period and consistent positive feedback from Handepay merchants. This partnership is another important step towards delivering our target of £100million EBITDA by the end of FY26.”