New Virtual Wallet clients

PPL are delighted to announce that Virtual Wallet has been chosen as the preferred partner for the delivery of health and social care direct payments by Hampshire County Council, NHS Hampshire & Isle of Wight ICB and Southampton City Council. 

Although the contract was only signed in September 2023, roughly 300 of Hampshire County Councils’ ‘managed accounts’ migrated across to Virtual Wallet in November to get the first pay runs completed before the festive break.  This was especially challenging as December is already the most stressful month of the year for anyone involved in the direct payments sector. 

Alongside the migration of ‘managed accounts’ to PPL’s Supported Account solution, Virtual Wallet will become the preferred (but not the only) method for managing direct payments.   The implementation project included a number of co-production sessions with end-users, and the roll-out continues to gather pace.   

As at the end of February 2024, there are over 400 individuals with a Virtual Wallet account across Hampshire County Council and NHS Hampshire & Isle of Wight ICB, with a weekly run-rate of £250,000 of payments to PAs and providers via Virtual Wallet.

Migration and setup is underway with Southampton City Council, with a ‘go live’ target of April 2024.  In due course, it is expected that the majority of legacy pre-paid card accounts will ultimately be migrated to Virtual Wallet. 

Alongside the Virtual Wallet solution, PPL (through it's partnership with B4B Payments) is also providing Hampshire County Council with a pre-paid card solution to support its 'Homes for Ukraine' program.  

This is the first time that PPL have engaged with multiple parties within an Integrated Care System at the same time to deliver Virtual Wallet.  However, our pricing model was developed with exactly this type of collaboration in mind: as the volumes managed via Virtual Wallet increase, the cost of the solution reduces.  By working together and pooling their volume, the ICB and the two local authorities are all benefiting financially.