Rangers are locked in a £338,000 legal battle over a kiosk payment system.
The club are being sued by Southbank Asset Finance Ltd at a civil hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court. The company via two others firms - Sporting Pay and Paytek - allege to be owed the cash for the use of card payment devices throughout Ibrox Stadium.
Rangers are fighting the claims and that Sporting Pay also broke a sponsorship agreement. The club teamed up with Sporting Pay in early 2020 to provide cashless payment equipment throughout its stadium. Sporting Pay was to provide 216 terminals with software at Ibrox and "maintain it in good working condition throughout the period of their appointment.”
Court papers state it was to cost Rangers around £12,500-a-month. The club were asked to make payments to Sporting Pay via Southbank's sister firm PayTek.
It is said they also entered into a sponsorship agreement that Sporting Pay would become the former Scottish Premiership champions "official payments technology suppliers." Rangers allege Sporting Pay were to give them sponsorship money first.
It is said the Glasgow side would pay PayTek 30 days later for the use of the financial system and card terminals. But, there were further claims of a "superseding" agreement that Rangers would not pay out if Sporting Pay did not cover their sponsorship money.
Southbank state that they had no knowledge of this at the time. Sporting Pay state they were initially offered, as part of the sponsorship agreement, perks such as being in the club's newsletter as well as a golf day and hospitality.
But, Rangers' head of commercial partnerships Fraser Williams told the civil hearing the pandemic prevented some of those being fulfilled. He stated Sporting Pay ended up receiving contracts from local establishments and pubs "due to association with the club."
It is claimed Sporting Pay fell into arrears with its payments with the last being a one off £10,000 in October 2020. Rangers insist the club paid a total of £150,498 to PayTek by June 2021.
Rangers state they stopped due to Sporting Pay's failure to perform under the agreements and deliver the correct equipment. This includes claims Sporting Pay provided "inferior" devices from another company.
Denise Primrose, head of the club's bar and retail operations, claimed in a statement: "I probably spent two hours every match fighting the card terminals." She also told the court that customers would also be charged twice.
It was claimed that the club's kiosk workers resorted to using calculators to add up orders during the club's Champions League qualifier defeat against Swedish club Malmo in 2021. Alan Davis, head of the club's IT department, told the court that Rangers paid £8,000 to another company to fix the problem in Sporting Pay's system.
The witness stated that the club still use the equipment to this day. Court papers also allege Sporting Pay failed to make their sponsorship payment.
In regards to sums owed, Sporting Pay claim say: "The Agreements were executed in February 2020. The monthly payments of £12,541.50 began to fall from April 2020.
"As at the date of raising these proceedings the sum of £300,996.00 had fallen by Rangers." A total of £150,498 including VAT has been paid by Rangers to Southbank.
"The sum of £338,620.50 including VAT remains outstanding."
Written submissions from Southbank and Rangers will be submitted to Sheriff Paul Reid next month before a decision is made is August.
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