Tuesday Interview: James Howard, managing director of Yorkshire Payments
As Bank Holiday Monday disrupted the start to the working week, we are publishing yesterday’s Monday interview one day later.
As one of just six UK merchant services with a licence to process Mastercard payments, the managing director of Yorkshire Payments is looking to further grow the firm’s presence and brand across the region.
James Howard was one of the founding members of the Brighouse-based firm in 2013, after finding a gap in the marketplace where consumers and businesses needing merchant payment services had lost confidence in some of the major banks.
He said customer service was essential to the business, as well as brand association to Yorkshire. “It is all about being hard working, transparent, straight-talking and being honest. We did not want to be another bank; we wanted to be a brand in our own right.”
Last year, the firm reported pre-tax profits of £400,000 on a turnover of £1.3m. This year, the firm is reaching for a £2m turnover. Howard said the firm has “stayed away” from providing merchant services to the high street due to it volatile nature but had instead built relationships with a range of Yorkshire businesses and charities.
The firm is ambitious to be the largest employer in Brighouse and also to have its own customer-facing branded shop front in the town, said Howard. “Something like that attracts customers and I think it is really important to open up such a shop here; we want to get a bit of a buzz going,” he added.
Howard said the firm still very much planned to service Yorkshire customers only. “Yorkshire is a brand that is recognisable and we want to make the most of it.”
Currently, the firm is securing between 10 and 30 new customers a week and in order to support the growth, Yorkshire Payments is looking to hire further people into the team. The business is also always looking to invest in new technology to keep people updated and remain competitive in the marketplace, so is incorporating online payments and app payments – it is already looking at bio-metric payments.
“It is all about re-educating businesses that they have choices when it comes to merchant payment services, that there are better and more local services out there. We are a disrupter but the world is changing,” added Howard.
He said he never imagined the business to grow to the size it has and is set to become. “Running a business is not easy but it is worth it and I am proud of the Brighouse area.”
