Lloyds Banking Group has decided to discontinue its invoice factoring service for small business clients by the year-end, as per recent reports. Invoice factoring involves a business selling its outstanding invoices to another entity at a discounted value in exchange for immediate cash flow, with the purchasing company assuming responsibility for collecting the full payment.

According to sources, Lloyds currently acquires unpaid invoices from small businesses, but this service is set to cease this week. The Financial Times has mentioned that NatWest and Barclays shut down their factoring operations some years back, while HSBC has tightened its service criteria.

In other developments, Lloyds has implemented significant changes this year. Customers of Lloyds Banking Group can no longer deposit cheques using pay-in slips; they must now utilize their debit cards and enter their PIN for deposits. Additionally, the option to deposit cheques at local Post Offices has been completely removed, requiring customers to visit a Lloyds, Halifax, or Bank of Scotland branch or use mobile banking for cheque deposits.

Moreover, Lloyds has raised the monthly fee for its Club Lloyds packaged bank account from £3 to £5. However, this fee can be waived by depositing £2,000 or more each month. The Club Lloyds account offers various benefits, such as a yearly lifestyle benefit choice, access to the Club Lloyds Monthly Saver, and up to 15% cashback at selected retailers.

Notably, Lloyds has eliminated debit card foreign currency fees for transactions made in the local currency, although fees may still apply if payments are made in pound sterling.