Advanced Payment Solutions (APS) partners with TradePoint to support sole traders and microbusinesses with access to business banking

This will provide TradePoint’s 1 million members with access to the Cashplus Business Expense Card. TradePoint’s business customers will be able to use the card to buy essential materials from TradePoint’s 159 counters and 196 B&Q stores across the UK, as well as online and at any other location where the MasterCard® brand mark is displayed.

This collaboration allows tradespeople to access expense cards, minimising the pain of managing and reconciling employee expenses, which is a costly drain on time and resources for small businesses. This is particularly pertinent in the repair & maintenance sector, with business owners regularly entrusting employees or apprentices with cash in order for them to make purchases on their behalf, or reimbursing them for equipment and travel costs. The expense card will provide a simple and secure solution to this problem, easing the ability to claim tax back on business materials and reducing the risk of employee fraud with transactions that are clearly itemised. APS’ Cashplus Business Expense Card also makes it easier to budget, and virtually impossible to overspend.

Sole traders, contractors and microbusinesses in general are poorly served by traditional banks, whose eligibility criteria for banking services hinges on credit and trading history. This is unsuitable for small and early stage companies, forcing many to mix personal and business expenditure by relying on their personal account, and put their own credit rating on the line.

The Cashplus Business Expense Card offers a simple, transparent and low-cost alternative to traditional business credit cards and is specifically designed to meet the needs of this group. Businesses are able to open an account without a credit check, receiving account details within minutes of applying and being verified online, with no paper application or interview required.

The Cashplus Business Expense Card will launch at a discounted rate for TradePoint customers for a limited period. Once businesses have received their primary account card, they will be able to easily add individual cards for employees as and when required. The centralised card management system will give the business owner total control and oversight of all the additional cards, either online or via the mobile app in real-time.

Commenting on this deal announcement with TradePoint, Rich Wagner, CEO and founder of APS said:

After seeing that our customers were using their personal Cashplus Cards to make business purchases, we realised how much of an issue this is for the businesses specifically operating in the trade sector. Since that point, we have been committed to providing banking and financial services to these individuals to support their business. We hope this will be a big weight off the shoulders of many of TradePoint’s customers, allowing them to grow their businesses and make the necessary transactions, without the typical constraints faced.

Mark Cooke Director, at TradePoint Building Supplies said:

We are delighted to partner with APS which will enable us to offer our customers the financial services necessary for them to run their businesses. Managing employee expenses and associated accounting requirements is a complicated and unwelcome burden on our customers, who are often juggling petty cash, and employee credit cards. We are proud to be able to offer them a low cost way to keep track of and manage this aspect of their businesses.

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Notes to Editors:

About APS

Advanced Payment Solutions (APS) is a leading challenger to the banks, offering alternative banking and payments solutions for consumers, micro businesses and public sector organisations who are security conscious, short on time or funds, need to complement existing accounts or are fed up with traditional bank services. APS is one of the most awarded and successful challenger banking providers in Europe, with over 1.3 million Cashplus cards issued and more than £3 billion in payments processed.

About TradePoint

TradePoint Building Supplies is the trade arm of B&Q. With over 1m members, TradePoint is open seven days a week, up to 14 hours a day and with guaranteed stock availability for over 12,000 products at trade prices. As well as 159 TradePoint Counters across the UK, there are “TradePoint order and collect points” in over 196 other B&Q stores.

TradePoint is for trade customers only. Customers must supply evidence of their trade status, and are then issued with their own membership card and catalogue listing all the products available. Customers also find separate parking with extra wide bays for vans, extended trade only services, and heavy goods can be picked from the building yard or delivered direct to site.