Lloyds Bank unveils ‘PayMe’ service for businesses

Lloyds Bank in the UK has developed a new service in partnership with Bottomline Technologies that enables payment transfers for businesses.

Lloyds Bank ‘PayMe’ allows businesses to make one-off payments in instances where the beneficiary’s bank details are unknown, with payees able to receive funds “in minutes”.

According to the bank, businesses using its new service do not have to gather or manage account information, or register one-off suppliers because, once the payment is approved, companies can send a secure link to the beneficiary, via email, SMS or QR code.

The beneficiary then inputs their account information and, after being reviewed and verified, the payment is sent directly to the beneficiary.

Stephen Everett, managing director of cash management and payments at Lloyds Bank, said it has developed the service to support its clients in driving efficiencies in their business and to help improve the customer experience they can offer.

“Payment solutions in the market today generally use Bacs for a three-day settlement or the need to send a physical cheque,” he said.

“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.”

Lloyds Bank PayMe can be used for one-time vendor payments, goodwill gestures, compensation payouts, refunds, hardship payments, volunteer expenses, and grants.

Utility company Scottish Water has already signed up for the service, which it estimates will allow its customers to receive payments within the same business day, rather than the seven to 10 days currently taken to complete.

“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,” added Brian Lironi, director of corporate affairs at Scottish Water.