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The Passmores Co-operative Learning Community: how new solutions are transforming payments for a six-school trust
The Passmores Co-operative Learning Community (PCLC) is a multi-academy trust based in Harlow, Essex. Making the switch to virtual cards has saved time while boosting efficiency, security and income.
Read time: 3 mins Added: 03/09/26
Driving efficiency and accuracy
Established in 2013, PCLC oversees two secondary schools and four primary schools, with around 4,500 pupils and an annual budget of £36 million. It means the central finance team is processing a huge volume of supplier invoices, which used to mean payment runs took two to three days to complete.
The Trust had been using physical commercial cards for day-to-day expenditure but following a proactive approach from their Lloyds Relationship Manager about new solutions that had been made available, they recognised an opportunity to transform how they managed payments across the organisation.
Working with Lloyds, PCLC introduced two complementary solutions. Embedded cards now handle payments for major suppliers covering exams, school trips, catering and counselling services. Virtual cards have been rolled out to primary school offices, secondary school PAs, and site and IT teams.
The appeal of the virtual card system is easy to understand - staff log on to a portal, request a card from their line manager, receive approval and can immediately make purchases online. The cards can be set up in seconds, copied for repeat suppliers or created as single-use cards for one-off purchases.
Shannon Barden Procurement and Lettings Manager, PCLCHaving six schools, payment runs were becoming quite a task for the finance team, taking two to three days just because of the sheer number of invoices we had to print out. And using physical cards obviously presents the risk of human error and fraudulent activity. Commercial cards have lightened the workload. It means we’re not constantly focused on fixing errors or chasing invoices. And at the end of the month, there’s just one bank statement to process.
A new approach to payments
The Trust uses embedded cards, which are used by the central finance team to pay for expenditure including exam fees, trips, meals and more. And more recently it has rolled out virtual cards for individual schools, as well as maintenance and IT teams. The Trust has implemented approval levels that match their financial procedures, with different thresholds triggering different levels of sign-off. This maintains proper oversight while giving schools the flexibility they need.
The facility has been gradually rolled out across the organisation over the space of a year, which will ultimately mean the phasing out of all physical cards, with staff able to make online and over the phone payments using the virtual card platform. Shannon says the rollout has gone very smoothly, with easy access to technical support, who have been able to resolve any teething issues within minutes.
Making working capital work harder
And the benefits extend beyond time savings. By paying suppliers via card, funds remain in the Trust's account for longer, allowing them to earn interest on their balances. For an organisation managing tight budgets amid rising energy costs and salary pressures, this creates a meaningful financial advantage.
Shannon Barden Procurement and Lettings Manager, PCLCThe cost of everything is going up, so anything we can do to claw money back where we can is welcome. The relationship between the central team and schools has improved too, because we’re no longer having to chase people if things go wrong, which can create tensions.
With minimal disruption, the adoption of virtual and embedded payment solutions has worked to improve the Trust’s oversight, accuracy, efficiency and security, enabling easier reporting and reconciliation and freeing up finance teams to focus on higher-value work like optimising procurement processes. At the same time, it has given schools greater flexibility and autonomy, while also simplifying workflows.
“Business-to-Business payments can sometimes feel complicated, with lots of solutions and supplier needs to consider and relationships to maintain. This is where the power of embedded and virtual cards really shines. All too often, we think of Card payments as just that – using a piece of plastic to buy something on the go.
But, by lodging an embedded card with your strategic suppliers, they can charge the card and send the enhanced invoice data all in one go, removing the need for physical invoices and helping to automate your reclaim of VAT from HMRC by providing evidence for the reclaim. And one-time or multiple use virtual cards provide additional spend controls and approval workflow, so you can empower your workforce to spend safely online, with full peace of mind they are protected.”
Adrian Wootton
Relationship Manager, Education, Lloyds
Adrian Wootton Relationship Manager, Education, LloydsBusiness-to-business payments can often feel complex, with multiple suppliers, processes and relationships to manage. This is where embedded and virtual cards come into their own. We often think of card payments as simply using a physical card to make a purchase, but embedded cards can be lodged with strategic suppliers, allowing them to charge the card and submit detailed invoice data in a single step. This reduces paperwork and helps support VAT reclaims by providing the necessary evidence. Virtual cards also offer spend controls and approval workflows, enabling organisations to spend online with confidence while maintaining visibility, control and security.
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