David Legg
Providing essential services means doing more than just allocating resources. It also involves managing finances carefully and following regulations. When you save time and cut costs, you can support your communities better.
In the past, finance teams had to reconcile transactions manually. They needed to chase approvals and match payments to budget codes for supplier payments. The result was a lot of time spent on soul-crushing admin.
How ePay can help
ePay is Lloyds’ virtual, single-use card solution. It generates a unique 16-digit Virtual Card Number (VCN) for each transaction, enabling organisations to pay suppliers securely and efficiently.
A particular advantage of ePay is that it encourages employees to provide accurate data at the point of payment. It links each purchase to the correct budget code and department. By gathering reference data for the transaction during the requesting of the VCN, it guarantees that organisations can allocate and book transactions quickly and efficiently.
Greater control, reduced risk
As well as efficiently tracking payments, ePay reduces the risk of providing an open credit line to employees. Unlike traditional credit cards, VCNs are only generated when needed, and every transaction can be configured to require approval in line with your policies. This reinforces policy adherence and reduces the risk of non-compliant or unauthorised spending.
ePay’s advanced security also offers a range of customisable safeguarding options. You can establish precise spending limits, regulate frequency of use and even restrict transactions to specific merchants, time frames or geographic locations.
Additionally, with ePay, you can strengthen supplier relationships because they know the purchaser has the necessary approvals. And by enabling you to bring forward payment terms, it can provide scope for negotiating discounts.
Three ways to implement ePay:
Smaller authorities or emergency services can simply log on through the GUI of a website or app. They can then request a virtual card and get payments approved with minimal setup – an accessible and low-maintenance option.
Larger organisations with higher transaction volumes can benefit from API integration by connecting ePay directly with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems such as SAP. This automated approach reduces manual intervention, ensuring seamless payment processing and enhanced efficiency.
For organisations handling payments to known strategic suppliers, there is also a batch option. This allows multiple payments to be processed in one go while maintaining the control and security benefits of VCNs. You could even potentially negotiate discounts with these suppliers by reducing payment times without harming your cash flow.
A real benefit of ePay is that it can fit within any given spending policy or process and improve how it works, regardless of the organisation’s size. You also have the option to start with the light-touch implementation and then scale up to an ERP connection or batch-driven process.
Ensuring compliance and security
With today’s increased scrutiny of public sector spending, transparency and compliance are paramount. ePay is aligned with public sector procurement frameworks and the Crown Commercial Service standards. This ensures that all transactions meet regulatory requirements.
By embedding approval workflows into the payment process, your finance teams can monitor spending in real time. This helps them enforce compliance policies. They can also lock cards to specific suppliers or categories. This feature further reduces the risk of policy breaches or first-party fraud.
A smarter future for public sector payments
Lloyds is committed to supporting public sector organisations with innovative financial solutions. ePay simplifies payments, enhances security and enables more effective financial management – allowing organisations to focus on delivering critical services.
To learn more about how ePay can transform your organisation’s payment processes, visit lloydsbank.com/cardsolutions or email [email protected]
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Lloyds and Lloyds Bank are trading names of Lloyds Bank plc. Registered Office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales no. 2065. Telephone: 0207 626 1500.
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