Customer benefits
Benefits for customers
It's faster!
The Faster Payments Service allows customers to make faster electronic payments, typically via the phone or internet, enabling them to be processed in hours rather than days.
It allows customers to make near real-time payments over the phone or through online banking all day, every day. It can also be used to make quicker standing order payments on bank working days.
Although some banks had already made a competitive decision to cover any loss of interest that their customers incur as a result of the existing three-day clearing cycle; a payment sent through the Faster Payments Service negates the need for such cover.
As a customer, do I need to do anything to take advantage of the Faster Payments Service?
- No, you don’t need to do anything different.
- You only need to check whether your bank has rolled out the new service on your account, and whether the account you want to send or receive a Faster Payment to/from is participating. You can do this at www.canipayfaster.co.uk
- If the Faster Payments Service is not available to you yet, payments can continue to be made through existing mechanisms for making electronic payments, such as Bacs and CHAPS.
If you are paying a bill, you will always need to check that the service provider accepts Faster Payments and, just as you do now, check their recommended timings to ensure your bill is paid on time. This information should be found on the back of your bill or statement.
What are the timescales for the introduction of the Faster Payments Service for personal and business customers?
The new service was launched on 27th May 2008 and participating banks have since this time started to rollout the Faster Payments Service for internet and phone payments.
In June 2008 most banks started to rollout the Faster Payments Service to process standing orders.
Business customers who have previously submitted large volumes of payments by Bacs were not initially able to submit files of payments directly into the Faster Payments Service. However, they may be able to take advantage of the Faster Payments Service by submitting files of payments directly to their financial institution, who will then submit the payments on their behalf. The availability of this service will be dependent on the particular financial institution.
If the Faster Payments Service is not available to you, payments can continue to be made through existing mechanisms for making electronic payments, such as CHAPS and Bacs.