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Barclays brings you Faster Payments - 2 Hours?
What is Faster Payments?
A brand new electronic payment clearing scheme for Sterling payments in the UK is being phased in from 27 May 2008.
Once fully operational, many of your electronic payments initiated through Online Banking, Telephone Banking, branches or self-service Kiosks could be processed in under 2 hours.
There will be an initial period when some banks are still joining the scheme. Payments to these banks will continue to take 3 working days until they have joined and are fully participating. Payments made to some credit card or utility companies will be excluded from the Faster Payments scheme and may still take a minimum of 3 working days to arrive in the account.
You need take no further action when making payments as Barclays will always send these through Faster Payments where possible.
How does it benefit you?
- It’s easy to use and you can make payments when it suits you.
- You can make online payments immediately at any time. Please refer to our guide for further details on how long payments take.
- Money paid to you is credited to your account within 2 hours of being received, even when the bank is closed. - Speedy processing to receiving accounts**.
- In many cases your money will be moved in hours rather than days allowing you to pay bills later if you wish. Please refer to our guide for further details on how long payments take. - Cost effective.
- An improved, faster service that’s free if you are a Personal customer or Premier Banking client. Local Business customers may be charged depending upon the tariff that applies to the account.
For further information please contact your local branch or your Relationship Manager.
** However, it is not possible to guarantee the time frame as it is dependent on the other bank's response to our instruction and may take up to 3 working days.Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the Faster Payments Service?
Faster Payments Service (FPS) is a brand new electronic Sterling payments system where many of the electronic payments within the scheme limit [see Q9] are received by the recipient bank, participating in the scheme, on the same day. You can make payments through Online Banking, Telephone Banking, branches or self-service Kiosks.
At the moment, the majority of Online Banking payments sent between banks are routed via Bacs. This means that a payment you make on day 1 arrives with the receiving bank on day 3 or later.
Q2. Does the Faster Payments Service replace Bacs?
No. Both clearing schemes will operate alongside each other. If a payment is within the Faster Payments scheme limit [see Q9] and can be sent via the Faster Payment service, Barclays systems will automatically send it that way. If not, it will be sent via Bacs and the clearing times will be as they are today, eg a minimum of 3 working days. There is no additional action that you need to take.
Q3. Is there a charge for the Faster Payments Service?
There are no charges for Personal or Premier customers for Faster Payment transactions. Local Business customers may be charged for a Faster Payment transaction depending upon the tariff that applies to their account, the same as Bacs transactions. There is no additional fee for Faster Payments. Barclays Commercial Bank customers may be charged depending upon the tariff that applies to their account.
Q4. How does the Faster Payment Service (FPS) work?
The Faster Payments Service works on a central system that’s external to Barclays. Barclays' systems communicate with the FPS system, which then communicates with the other participating bank to determine if payments can be sent via FPS.
If they can, then:
- The FPS system tells the receiving bank the details of the account the money is going to.
- The receiving bank tells the FPS system whether the payment can be accepted and gives guidelines on how long it will be before funds can be withdrawn.
- The FPS system then places details of this status back into Barclays' systems.
If the payment cannot be credited to the receiving account (for example the account has been closed) the bank will return the payment.
Beneficiaries like credit card and utility companies may need additional time to apply funds to their customers' card accounts or utility accounts.
Q5. Does this mean I can make my bill payments the day they are due?
For some you will be able to make these the same day. However, payments to some companies with other banks, eg utility companies and credit card accounts, will not necessarily arrive in your account with them on the same day. Not all UK banks are members of the Faster Payment Service and payments to accounts held with these banks will continue to take at least 3 days. Faster Payments is being phased in over several months beginning late May 2008 and this will also affect whether your payment can be sent via the Faster Payments Service. Always refer to our Payments timescales guide. This will be updated regularly.
Q6. How long will a Faster Payment take?
Payments sent via the Faster Payments Service should be received on the same day although there is no guarantee of this – some will be available more quickly than others. Each payment will receive a ‘Status’ message from the receiving bank, which will provide information on how soon the funds will be available to the recipient.
Q7. How will I know whether another bank is a member of the Faster Payments Service?
You can find out whether a particular bank can receive Faster Payments on the APACS website.
Q8. Why can’t all payments be sent via the Faster Payments Service?
Not all banks have agreed to be a part of the Faster Payments Service and there will be an initial period where other banks are still joining the system, therefore payments to these banks will continue on the existing 3-day cycle (Bacs) until they are fully engaged. Payments to accounts at non-member banks will continue to be routed through the existing Bacs system. You can find out more about the Faster Payments Service at the APACS website. From 27 May 2008 this site will tell you whether a particular bank can receive FPS payments.
Q9. How much money can be sent via the Faster Payments Service?
The Faster Payment Service limits are:
- £10,000 maximum - bill payments/3rd party transfers/future dated payments
- £100,000 maximum - standing orders.
These limits are set by APACS (Association of Payment Clearing Services), not Barclays. Additionally, for your protection we too have set transaction limits based on customer segment and the channel used for making a payment. These may be lower than the Faster Payments Service limits.
Q10. How can I guarantee that a payment will be received by the recipient the same day?
You will need to arrange for it to be sent as a CHAPS payment but there will be a charge for this. Please contact your branch.
Q11. Can a payment sent via Faster Payments Service be stopped once made?
Faster payments cannot be stopped once you have confirmed your instructions.
Q12. How can I recover money sent via the Faster Payment Service?
You will need to apply directly to the recipient for a refund as the funds will already have been received by them.
Q13. Can I choose whether an electronic payment goes via the Faster Payment Service (FPS) or Bacs?
No. Once an electronic payment is entered into our system, it will automatically check whether it can be sent via FPS.
All payments will be sent via FPS unless:
- The receiving bank is not an FPS member.
- The amount of the payment is above the FPS limit.
- The sort code has not been enabled by the receiving bank to receive FPS payments.
Q14. Are standing orders and Direct Debits covered by the Faster Payments Service?
Standing order payments will be sent via the Faster Payment Service if the receiving bank is part of the scheme and if the payment amount falls within the Faster Payment Scheme Limit [see Q9]. Direct Debit payments are not affected by the Faster Payment Service.
Q15. Will payments to my Woolwich Mortgage Account be received the same day?
Faster Payments is being phased in over several months beginning late May 2008 and it is envisaged that Woolwich Mortgages will be within the service and therefore able to receive Faster Payments by the end of 2008. Until that time, payments will continue to take the existing 3 days. For further information refer to our Payments guide.
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