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Switching to Lloyds Bank Cardnet never looked so good
After years with another provider, Mid Sussex District Council’s decision to choose Lloyds Bank Cardnet for their merchant services came down to trust, price, and the experience to truly understand their sector.
Read time: 2 mins Added: 10/05/2023
Mid Sussex District Council is a local government district within the historic county of Sussex. It has a population of over 150,000 and generated nearly £8 million of annual card turnover in 2022*, mainly from council tax payments.
Lloyds Bank Cardnet was invited to submit a bid through a benchmarking exercise conducted on the council’s behalf. With any local authority opportunity, the bidders are scored across several areas, including price, service, and ease of switching. David Chalk, the council’s Finance Systems Technical Officer, also saw no point in looking at a short-term solution, so it helped that part of our proposal came with a dedicated relationship manager, extensive experience across the sector, and a long-standing banking relationship with them already.
Annual cost savings
The nature in which we presented the costs to the council also gave David confidence in the commercial value of our proposition. Our pricing structure gave a transparent view of the market by showing fees from the card schemes e.g., Visa® and Mastercard®, as well as our own processing fees, which resulted in offering the council an annual cost saving through better rates.
They were able to use our PCI DSS portal to transfer over their existing compliance, which enabled them to remain compliant, safeguarding their cardholder data, without the need of further assessment. David also has access to our online reporting tool, which will help him oversee and manage every transaction.
Seamless switching process
One area the council was very impressed with, was the speed in which we processed the switch, and how quickly we responded to questions.
“There was very little I needed to do, and it’s a relief to finally have a supplier who gets the importance of giving their customer a quick response.”
David Chalk, Finance Systems Technical Officer, Mid Sussex District Council
Local authorities are usually very reluctant to switch, as they see it as a large project, so this deal proves that it can be done very quickly if all stakeholders are engaged. Our implementation team assisted in the seamless integration of our systems with the council’s operating software platform in a short period of time, resulting in minimal disruption to the council.
Continuing support and cost savings
From the bidding process – which included the use of the CPRAS Framework – to connecting to their website, we were able to smoothly transition Mid Sussex District Council over to Lloyds Bank Cardnet in an impressive timeframe, enabling them to realise cost savings much quicker.
As well as trying to be as competitive as we can in the market, Lloyds Bank Cardnet will continue to support local authorities, and continue to dispel the myth that switching to an established merchant services provider means a lengthy process.
“Offering a one-to-one relationship and a contract based on at least five years, was vital in building trust with the council, and demonstrates our long-term commitment to supporting local authorities.”
David Morgan, Associate Director, Card acquiring & payments
*Value of card transactions financial year 2022/23.
Cardnet is a trading name and registered trademark of Lloyds Bank plc. ®Mastercard and ®Visa are registered trademarks. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners.