A monetary limit set by the sponsor on an individual account to restrict the value passing through for a fixed period

Automated Direct Debit Amendment and Cancellation Service - the Bacs service allowing banks or building societies to advise Direct Debit originators of any amendments to or cancellations of Direct Debit Instructions (DDIs). Also used to advise originators of the new bank account details when a customer transfers their account from one paying bank to another. The communication is sent either electronically or on paper

The notice period (normally 10 working days plus postal time) given to the payer in respect of the date of debiting and the amount to be debited

Any bank or building society that is not a member of Bacs

Multiple or combined payments relating to more than one contract collected under a single Direct Debit Instruction (DDI)

The Association for Payment Clearing Services manages the main clearing networks which allow UK banks and building societies to exchange payments

This is a legal warrant lodged by a Sherriff Officer or a Messenger-at-Arms with a person owing money to or holding goods on behalf of another who is being sued by a third party, for payment of a debt performance of an obligation

Automated Return of Unapplied Credits - a mechanism by which paying banks return unapplied credits to the originator via Bacs

Automated Return of Unpaid Direct Debits - the automated system used by banks to return unpaid Direct Debit payments. Unpaid Direct Debits are advised to the originator by Bacs using the Automated Unpaid Direct Debit (AUDD) report

The AUtomated DDI Service - the Bacs system for electronically lodging Direct Debit Instructions (DDIs)

For the purpose of AUDDIS the AUDDIS Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) is either the Instruction or any subsequent written communication from the customer to the originator amending the terms of the original AUDDIS DDI

Advice of Wrong Account for Automated Credits Service - if a Bacs Direct Credit has incorrect account destination details the receiving bank will try to locate the correct account and advise the originating organisation of the details. AWACS is the automated system used by banks to notify the organisation of the correct details to be used for future payments

Bacs approved bureau - a commercial bureau awarded approved status by Bacs

A not-for-profit, membership based, industry body, responsible for the processing of five billion payments a year with over 80 million on a peak day. It has been at the heart of the payments industry for more than 40 years providing two electronic payment services: Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit

The three day cycle (minimum three English bank working days) taken for a payment instruction to be submitted to Bacs for processing and the time it reaches the destination account. The processing cycle has the following stages: arrival, input, processing and entry

An electronic payment processed by Bacs and made directly to a bank or building society account

A service providing a highly secure access channel into Bacs. It uses internet technologies and public key infrastructure (PKI) security to allow access to Bacs payment services, including payment file processing, report accessing etc. Bacstel-IP carries out some online validation of submissions

Whenever the word bank appears, it refers to bank or building society

A Bacs approved software supplier (BASS) is a company providing Bacs approved software solutions to businesses that wish to access the Bacs service

A department or office of a financial institution, identified by a sort code

An organisation that sends payments to Bacs on behalf of an organisation which uses the Bacs service. Different categories of bureaux are: Commercial - submitting data to Bacs on behalf of totally independent third party customers; Bank - offering members services direct; In house commercial group - working solely for the group and submitting data to Bacs incorporating either a single company that has different user numbers for different applications or a company group where each individual company has its own user number(s); Other - any bureau not in the above categories

Cheque and Credit Clearing Company - is the paper clearing processing cheques and bank giro credits

A day according to the Gregorian calendar, for example, 11July 2007

Clearing House Automated Payments System - a system providing same day settlement between financial institutions for low volume, high value transactions

Method of exchange between financial institutions

A loss incurred by a payer which is a consequence of the direct loss suffered as a result of an erroneous Direct Debit transaction

A unique reference on the Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) of a minimum of six alpha numeric, upper case characters which matches the DDI to the subsequent Direct Debit payments (Also see reference)

A claim raised by an originator against a paying bank following settlement of an indemnity claim which the originator believes to be unjustified

A transaction that credits a destination account

A unit of information corresponding to a debit or credit transaction

Database Management System

An authority signed by the customer allowing the originator to collect Direct Debit payments from his/her account

A transaction that debits a destination account

The account to which a transaction is addressed

A payment of an agreed amount collected from a customers bank account by an originator on request. The amounts and dates may vary from payment to payment

The guarantee offered by the paying banks to payers in respect of the Direct Debit Scheme specifying their rights and safeguards

A period, normally 13 months, from Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) lodgement or last Direct Debit payment, after which a paying bank will drop details of a DDI because no payments have been collected

The debit date as advised to the payer in the advance notice from the originator

See Bacs cycle

When a Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) has expired

Frequently asked questions - documents listing and answering the most common questions on a particular subject

Field of a data record (Also see Field 9, 10 or 11)

The reference (maximum of 18 characters) applied to the Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) by the originator when it is lodged with the paying bank. This must also appear in the Direct Debit payment record

The payer’s account name (maximum of 18 characters). This must be the name of the person who is paying the Direct Debit and has signed the Direct Debit Instruction (DDI).

The short name of the originator (maximum of 18 characters) which appears in the Direct Debit payment record and may appear on the payer’s bank statement

A self-balancing set of records from a service user

A networking protocol

Old name for third party debt order - an order of an English, Welsh or Northern Irish court addressed to a bank to pay money from a debtors account to a judgement creditor in satisfaction of a judgement debt

A scripting language

A networking protocol

A document which contains a legally binding undertaking to make payment to a paying bank in response to an indemnity claim. An indemnity, in standard form, is an essential requirement of the Direct Debit Scheme

A claim made by the paying bank in respect of an incorrect Direct Debit being applied to an account

An area of business such as a market sector, for example, the insurance market

See Bacs cycle

Time by which a transmission must be completed (22.30) if the items are to be processed on the following processing day

The confirmation of processing of an organisations file available to the originator on input day

See Direct Debit Instruction (DDI)

A service to assist customers when moving their bank or building society accounts by electronically transferring Direct Debit and Standing Order information between banks or building societies.Also known as Transfer of Direct Debit and Standing Orders (ToDDaSO)

The Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of computer technologies that enable many computers to exchange information reliably and efficiently, wherever they may be, worldwide

Irregular payments, which occur more than once in a 13 month period, are allowed by the Scheme

Industry Sorting Code Directory - consolidates all Cheque and Credit Clearing, CHAPS and Bacs sort code related information, as well as information held in the Reeds Sorting Code Directory