Notes to editors
About Bacs:
Founded in 1968, Bacs has processed over 130 billion payments in the last five decades. In 2018, a record 6.4 billion UK payments were made this way with a total value of £4.96 trillion, including almost 4.4 billion Direct Debits. A new record was also set on 29 November 2018, with 123 million transactions processed in a single day.
On 1 May 2018, Bacs Payment Schemes Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of the new home for UK retail payments, Pay.UK. The responsibility for the operations of Direct Debit, Bacs Direct Credit, the Current Account Switch Service, Cash ISA Transfer Service, and the Industry Sort Code Directory were handed over to Pay.UK.
The Bacs payment systems are recognised as systemically important infrastructure under the Banking Act 2009. This means that, as the owner and operator of Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit, Pay.UK is regulated by the Financial Markets Infrastructure Directorate at the Bank of England.
For further information please visit www.bacs.co.uk.
About the Current Account Switch Service:
Key features of the Current Account Switch Service include:
- The service is free to use
- The switch will be completed in seven working days – a substantial improvement on the previous process that could take between 18 and 30 working days
- The customer can choose and agree the switch date with their new current account provider
- All payments going out (e.g. Direct Debits) and those coming in (e.g. salary) will be moved from the old account to the new account
- Payments accidentally made to or requested from the old account will be automatically redirected to the new account for as long as the facility is required
- The Current Account Switch Guarantee means that the customer will receive a refund of interest and charges on their old and new current accounts if anything goes wrong with the switch.
As of 1 April 2015, the eligibility criteria for businesses, charities and trusts was extended. SMEs with a turnover of up to £6.5 million, small charities with an annual income of less than £6.5 million, and small trusts with a net asset value of less than £6.5 million can switch their current account provider using the Current Account Switch Service.
The service was previously available for small businesses with a turnover of 2 million euros (or sterling equivalent); and this extension increases the reach of the service to 99% of the UK’s SME market.
Bacs is responsible for all aspects of the service including working on the recommendations in the Financial Conduct Authority’s ‘Making Current Account Switching Easier’ report, and the findings from the CMA’s market investigation into retail banking.
About Pay.UK:
Pay.UK (previously the New Payment System Operator) maintains and develops the UK retail payment systems and standards that are core to the economy being able to function on a day-to-day basis. We are the leading authority for retail payments, working in the public interest to ensure that the systems the country relies on for its banking transactions are safe, open, innovative and resilient.
Our payment systems form a vital part of the UK economy – they underpin the services that enable funds to be transferred between people and institutions. In 2017, the UK’s retail payment systems processed more than 8 billion transactions worth £6.7 trillion through Bacs Direct Credit, Direct Debit, Faster Payments, and cheques.
Every day, individuals and businesses use the services we provide to get their salaries, pay their bills and make online and mobile banking payments. Our vision for the future is to enable a vibrant economy, with Pay.UK delivering the best-in-class payment infrastructure and standards for the benefit of consumers and businesses nationwide.
Find out more on our website: wearepay.uk or get more detail on the systems we manage: bacs.co.uk, chequeandcredit.co.uk, fasterpayments.org.uk, paym.co.uk.