Pair to develop mobile card acceptance solutions for small businesses
Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has partnered with Monitise to develop a suite of mobile card acceptance solutions for micro-merchants, start ups and small business owners.
The partnership will offer a suite of mobile payments products from autumn this year. With the number of UK private businesses increasing for the twelfth consecutive year, reaching 4.8 million at the start of 2012 [Enterprise Nation, October 2012], the mobile point of sale(mPOS) solution will offer a fast and secure way for them to take payments, the pair claimed.
In addition, this partnership provides the basis to offer additional mobile banking services and business solutions in the future.
Aidene Walsh, managing director for cards, transaction banking, Lloyds Bank, said: 'This partnership with Monitise will see Lloyds Bank use technology to open up many new opportunities for thousands of small businesses who want to trade on the move. There are more than 3.5 million sole traders in the UK who are missing out at the moment because they do not have access to existing mobile payments technology and we want to plug that gap with a service that is low cost and easy to use.
'We will offer the technology to sole traders and micro merchants and we hope it will open up new trading opportunities for businesses up and down the country, reduce their costs, and help drive growth for each and every one of our customers,' continued Walsh. 'This solution will also be the basis for a number of broader mobile banking initiatives which Lloyds are actively developing for our clients.'
Monitise Group chief commercial officer, Lee Cameron, said: 'mPOS is changing the way businesses manage their money as payments go mobile. Market forecasts indicate that it's going to shake up the payments industry as we know it, creating a fundamental shift in how banks service their customers. We are delighted to be working with Lloyds Bank to offer a suite of mobile card acceptance solutions to its Commercial Bank customers. This is a validation of our strategy to invest in new mobile payments and commerce solutions and networks.'
