---
title: "Provision of an Early Payment Programme"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-df359217-fd5f-48b5-9bae-95b15da931cf"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-df359217-fd5f-48b5-9bae-95b15da931cf"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-df359217-fd5f-48b5-9bae-95b15da931cf.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-df359217-fd5f-48b5-9bae-95b15da931cf.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Lancashire County Council"
published: "2026-08-17"
---

# Provision of an Early Payment Programme

Buyer: Lancashire County Council  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-df359217-fd5f-48b5-9bae-95b15da931cf

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## Summary

Lancashire County Council procured an Early Payment Programme as a financial transaction processing and clearing-house service. The programme is intended to support early payment arrangements within the council’s supply chain, requiring a provider able to operate the relevant financial processing service for the council and its suppliers. The work is delivered for Lancashire County Council in the North West of England. This is a services procurement and is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The selected supplier is Oxygen Finance Ltd, based in Birmingham. The requirement is therefore relevant to financial services providers, payment-processing businesses and specialist firms operating early-payment or supply-chain finance programmes for public sector organisations.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded. Lancashire County Council used a direct award from a third-party framework. The tender deadline was 7 August 2026 at 12:00, and the award was made on 10 August 2026. Oxygen Finance Ltd was selected for a contract valued at £1,800,000. The contract period runs from 21 August 2026 to 20 August 2031. The opportunity was evaluated through the framework’s direct-award route; the available information identifies the procurement method but does not set out separate quality or price weightings. The award is active, and the contract covers the Early Payment Programme service for Lancashire County Council.

For a supplier that did not win this procurement, the award demonstrates sustained public-sector demand for specialist early-payment services within a large local authority supply chain. A credible future competitor would need practical capability in financial transaction processing, payment clearing and the operation of early-payment programmes, with the systems and controls needed to process transactions reliably for a council and its suppliers. Relevant experience of supporting public-sector buyers or complex supplier networks would strengthen its position. The procurement was suitable for SMEs, indicating that a specialist provider can compete without needing to be a large generalist financial institution. Firms with demonstrable operational capacity, secure processing arrangements and a clear service model for council suppliers are the closest fit.

## Notice

Provision of an Early Payment Programme

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/470d49ef-53ad-4f7d-abdb-a370e2cb4570 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Other - Direct award from 3rd party framework |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 17 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 7 Aug 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 10 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 21 Aug 2026 - 20 Aug 2031 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £1,800,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £1,800,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Lancashire County Council |
| Locality | PRESTON |
| Postcode area | Preston |
| Postcode | PR1 8XJ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLD4 Lancashire |
| ITL 3 | TLD45 Mid Lancashire |
| Local authority | Preston |
| Electoral ward | City Centre |
| Westminster constituency | Preston |
| Delivery location | TLD North West (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Oxygen Finance Ltd |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 66 - Financial and insurance services

### Codes

- 66172000 - Financial transaction processing and clearing-house services

## Release History

- 17 Aug 2026 at 12:25 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/470d49ef-53ad-4f7d-abdb-a370e2cb4570

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/470d49ef-53ad-4f7d-abdb-a370e2cb4570
  17th August 2026 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-df359217-fd5f-48b5-9bae-95b15da931cf. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-df359217-fd5f-48b5-9bae-95b15da931cf.json.