Faster Payments Service
The Faster Payments Service is a Banking industry initiative to speed up certain payments and is due to launch mid 2008.
The Faster Payments Service will allow participating banks to provide same day processing of electronic payments such as funds transfers, bill payments and Standing Orders.
Bank customers will be able to
- Make payments via online or telephone banking on a near real-time* basis
- Send same day payments without using CHAPS
- Know in real time whether a Faster Payment was sent successfully
Both sending and receiving banks need to be members of the Faster Payments Service and the amount of the payment needs to be within the set limits.
The new Faster Payments Service will run alongside CHAPS (same day value payments) which will continue unchanged and will be needed for high value payments.
Same Day Payments
For inter bank transfers and Standing Orders there is currently a three working day cycle between a payment being made and the funds being received at the recipient’s bank.
This new service will reduce this to same day for eligible payments to a bank which is participating in the scheme.
Most major banks will be in the scheme. Where a bank is not in the scheme or a payment value is outside the scheme rules the payment will either have to be sent via CHAPS or the three working day cycle via BACS. A three working day cycle payment would be initiated the same way as a Faster Payment.
It is important to note that most Faster Payments will reach the receiving bank in near real-time*, but in some cases e.g. credit card payments, the funds may take more time to reach the individual account.
Using the Faster Payments Service
There will be no change in the way you initiate Standing Orders, online and telephone banking payments using the scheme. You do not need to do anything to receive Faster Payments into your account.
Check this page regularly to keep up to date with Faster Payments.
* Near real-time – The payment will be received by the payee, almost immediately after leaving your account, but sometimes up to two hours later, providing the payment amount is within the Faster Payments set limits.