Lloyds Taps Optal To Promote Commercial Card Adoption

B2B payments and accounts receivable solution provider Optal is collaborating with Lloyds Bank, the companies announced Tuesday (July 16).

Lloyds Bank will connect its own commercial clients to Optal’s B2B transaction optimization solutions with a focus on helping those clients’ B2B vendors accept card payments via Optal’s Invapay solution. The platform enables corporate buyers to pay suppliers with commercial cards then converts their card transactions into an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for vendors that do not accept cards, negating the need for vendors to endure the on-boarding process of card acceptance.

By collaborating with Optal, Lloyds can support its corporate customers in strengthening the relationship with their own suppliers and business partners.

“We’re delighted to be teaming up with Lloyds Bank to optimize B2B payments for even more businesses around the world,” said Optal Global Head of Working Capital Solutions Andrew Watson in a statement. “Our Invapay platform really does offer a win-win for all concerned: fast, friction-free payments to facilitate seamless, transparent business processes.”

In another statement, Lloyds Bank head of commercial cards James Sykes said teaming up with Optal to connect business clients to its Invapay solution “offers them a great opportunity to simplify their payment landscape, whilst optimizing the working capital benefits of their card facility, and expanding the range of suppliers they can pay with cards.”

Last year Optal released research based on a survey of more than 100 corporate finance executives in the U.K. Its report concluded that organizations are struggling to modernize their B2B payment processes due to a variety of factors, including the high volume of vendors with which they work: About half said they work with more than 500 suppliers, while one-third said they regularly work with more than 2,000.

The subsequent high volume of invoices received, as well as the growing volume of cross-border vendor partnerships, has introduced new complexities into businesses’ B2B payments operations, researchers said.