Readers' forum : App your service

I act on behalf of a client who specialises in developing and providing apps for various businesses. He has developed one that is used by organisers of events and conferences to make the organisation process as easy as possible. My client will charge a monthly fee to the conference organiser for the app.

However as an extra service my client has also developed a system which allows delegates to pay their conference fees online through. It all sounds quite complicated but the principle is that my client will receive a fee from the conference organiser equivalent to 2% of the payment amount collected from the customers.

The client will bank the money into an account in his own company’s name and then make a monthly payment to the event organiser less his 2% commission.

My question is whether this arrangement is exempt from VAT as a financial...