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A comprehensive list of Bacs terms and their meaning.
The transaction code used in the AUDDIS service to cancel an existing DDI with a PSP
The transaction code used in the AUDDIS service to set up a new DDI with a PSP
The transaction code used in the AUDDIS service to convert an existing manually set up DDI with a PSP
Message from ceding Cash ISA provider to acquiring ISA provider that accepts a transfer request, and thus undertakes to transfer the appropriate sum of money in accordance with the transfer request
See entry - 'Account Holding PSP'
The PSP that holds the account to be credited or debited
A monetary limit set by the sponsor on an individual account to restrict the value passing through
See entry - 'Current Account Switch Service'
The Cash ISA provider that a Cash ISA is being transferred to – this could be another Cash ISA provider, a Stocks & Shares ISA or an Innovative Finance ISA provider
The notice period (default is 10 working days plus postal time) given to the payer in respect of the date of debiting and the amount to be debited
If a Bacs Direct Credit has incorrect account destination details the receiving PSP may try to locate the correct account and advise the originating organisation of the details. AWACS is the automated system used to notify the organisation of the correct details to be used for future payments. It is also used for example in the Current Account Switch Service to advise of new PSP account details where a Bacs Direct Credit has been redirected by the central redirection service
Any PSP that is not a direct participant of Bacs but has an agency relationship with a direct participant for purposes such as settlement. Sometimes referred to as an indirect clearer
A third party that provides one or more Payment Service Providers (PSPs) with a technical access solution enabling the submission of input to, and, more importantly, the collection of output from, the Bacs service
Also see - 'Bureau'
Multiple or combined payments relating to more than one contract collected under a single Direct Debit Instruction (DDI)
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
The Financial Conduct Authority authorises E-Money Institutions in accordance with the Electronic Money Regulations 2011
The Financial Conduct Authority authorises Payment Institutions in accordance with the Payment Service Regulations 2017
The Bacs service allowing PSPs to advise Direct Debit service users of any amendments to or cancellations of Direct Debit Instructions (DDIs). This is also used by other Bacs services such as the Current Account Switch Service to advise service users of the new account details when a customer transfers their account from one paying PSP to another
The service allowing Receiving PSPs to return Bacs Direct Credit Payments that they could not apply. The credit is returned to the originating account and Bacs generates a report for the service user detailing the payment that is being returned unapplied and the reason for the return
The service allowing PSPs to return Direct Debit payments to the service user that they could not apply. The debit is returned to the service user’s account and Bacs generates a report for the service user detailing the payment that is being returned unpaid and the reason for the return
Software solution suppliers wishing to provide Bacs connectivity packages submit their products for testing and if approved, may market themselves as suppliers of a Bacs approved solution/software
An automated credit using the Bacs service
The Rules and Standards that govern the Bacs Schemes and services
An account designed for those who may not meet a PSP's criteria for opening a standard current account. It is defined by the Office of Fair Trading as, “An account that allows consumers to pay income, benefits, cheques or cash directly into the account and withdraw cash at ATMs. Basic PSP accounts can also be used to pay bills by either Direct Debit, by transferring money to another account or by payment to a linked account. Basic PSP accounts do not offer an overdraft.”
A PSP receiving payments for crediting to the Beneficiary’s account
A department or office of a financial institution or PSP
Now amalgamated into UK Finance (UKF)
Building Societies Association
A service that automatically redirects certain payment types (e.g. Bacs and Faster Payments), and that is primarily used to support the transfer of (typically large volumes of) accounts between PSPs
A day according to the Gregorian calendar, for example, 11 July 2007
A savings account that allows you to earn interest tax free on cash savings
Cash ISAs – the party to the account – the account holder
Junior ISAs – the parties to the account – the account holder (the child) and a registered contact
An organisation that is permitted / authorised to offer customers Cash ISAs
The Cash ISA provider that a Cash ISA is being transferred from
A central database that holds the data necessary to facilitate redirection
See ‘DDIC Challenge’ and 'Challenge process'
C&CCCL manages the paper clearing scheme, processing cheques and bank giro credits
Method of exchange between PSP's
The PSP where the cheque is deposited (i.e. paid in) and may also be the beneficiary PSP
Multiple or combined payments relating to more than one contract collected under a single DDI
An FM provider offering services to third parties for example other businesses, from sole trader to corporate entities regardless of whether charges are imposed or not
Message from acquiring ISA provider to ceding Cash ISA provider to confirm that the transfer process is complete
A loss incurred by a payer which is a consequence of the direct loss suffered as a result of an erroneous Direct Debit collection
A unique reference comprising a minimum of six alpha-numeric upper case characters that is allocated by a service user to identify a Direct Debit Instruction. The core reference must be quoted in all Direct Debit collections to enable the paying PSP to match the collection with the Direct Debit Instructions (DDIs). Use of 'DDIC' in the first four characters of the reference must not be used. This is reserved for PSP use only
Counter claim means any challenges made through the challenge process
See - DDIC
A transaction that credits a destination account
In the context of the Current Account Switch Service, a current account is an account with sterling (GBP) as the account currency which provides the facility to receive and make payments using payments instruments such as cheques, debit cards, Direct Debits, Standing Orders and ATMs and make regular payments
The service which enables consumers and small businesses to switch their PSP account and their regular payments such as Direct Debits, Standing Orders and Bill Payments from one PSP (the old PSP) to another (the new PSP). It is a free to use service that has been designed to be simple, reliable and stress-free and is backed by the Current Account Switch Guarantee
See - 'Bacs Cycle'
See - 'Bacs Cycle'
See - 'Bacs Cycle'
See 'Dormancy Period'
A transaction that debits a destination account
The DNS model includes the clearing and exchange of payments between participants during a clearing cycle.At the end of this cycle, the net position of each of the direct participants is settled on a multilateral net basis i.e. a single amount is paid or received by each direct participant
The account to which a transaction is addressed
The guarantee offered by PSP's to payers in respect of the Direct Debit Scheme specifying their rights and safeguards
Direct Debit Indemnity Claim
See - 'Indemnity claim'
A database of Direct Debit service users including e.g. service user contact details, advance notice period, dormancy period, AUDDIS status
See - 'Guide and Rules'
A clearing and settlement participant in Bacs
The time after which a PSP will look to remove details of Direct Debit Instructions (DDIs) from a payer’s account if no collections have been made in that time. The default period is normally 13 months* and is recorded against a Direct Debit Service User Number (SUN) on the Direct Debit service user's database (DDO)
*This has been temporarily increased to 24 months to minimise the impact of payment holidays during the Covid-19 pandemic
The date on which a Direct Debit collection is due to be taken
See - 'Payment date'
The document, which details the technical specification and file formats for file submission to Bacs
The Electronic Money Regulations 2011
See - 'Bacs cycle'
When a Direct Debit Instruction has expired
Also see - 'Notice of Expiry and Dormancy Period'
In the context of the Direct Debit Scheme, a service user (FM provider) or bureau that takes responsibility for the collection or administration of Direct Debits on behalf of another business that may not be a service user in its own right (FM client)
A business that has not been sponsored into the Direct Debit Scheme by their PSP and therefore does not have a service user number (SUN) and engages the services of a Facilities Management (FM) provider to collect and administer Direct Debits on their behalf
Frequently asked questions - documents listing and answering the most common questions on a particular subject
Field of a data record
See - 'Field 9', 'Field 10', 'Field 11'
Contains the reference (maximum of 18 characters) applied to the Bacs Direct Credit or Direct Debit transaction by the service user when it is sent to the receiving PSP. This is a critical field for both credits and debits allowing the recipient to identify what the payment relates to
Contains the destination account name (maximum of 18 characters). For Direct Debits this must be the name of the person who is paying the Direct Debit and has authorised the Direct Debit Instruction (DDI)
Contains the Originating account name. In the case of Direct Debit, this is the short name of the service user (maximum of 18 characters) which appears in the Direct Debit payment record and may appear on the payer’s PSP statement
See - 'Field 9', 'Field 10', 'Field 11'
A self balancing set of records from a service user
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard Internet protocol for transmitting files between computers on the Internet over TCP/IP connections.
Also see - 'TCP/IP'
See - 'Third party debt order'
The Guide and Rules to the various Bacs schemes
The rules that apply to the operation and use of the Scheme and the Bacs Service as amended from time to time by Bacs
A scripting language
The set of rules for transferring files on the World Wide Web
A document under the Direct Debit Scheme that contains a legally binding undertaking to make payment to any paying PSP 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 PSP in respect of an incorrect Direct Debit being applied to an account
An institution which: (a) provides Bacs payments services to third parties under the sponsorship of a participant and (b) has entered into a sponsorship arrangement with the participant referred to in (a) above
A participant who is 'sponsored' and uses a Direct Participant for clearing and settlement in Bacs
An area of business such as a market sector, for example, the insurance market
An organisation that is permitted / authorised to offer customers Innovative Finance (IF) ISAs
Files of payments sent into Bacs for processing
Also see - 'Output'
See - 'Bacs cycle'
Time by which a Bacs transmission must be completed (22.30) if the items are to be processed on the following processing day
See - 'Direct Debit Instruction (DDI)'
A communications technology used to transmit relatively high speed digital data through a single channel over telephone lines
Individual Savings Account
An organisation that is permitted / authorised to offer customers an Individual Savings Account
A term used to describe a single Bacs transaction
A ceiling monetary amount, requested by a service user, to be set against individual items. When the limit is exceeded, the record is noted on the input report
Julian dates run serially throughout the year. 1 January is always 001 and 31 December is 365 (366 if a leap year)
A Cash ISA available to those customers less than 18 years of age
A Service User must be either a legal person (natural or corporate or, in Scotland only, a partnership) or exceptionally a collection of persons governed by a defined legal framework (such as a partnership or unincorporated association). These are referred to as legal entities. A group of companies is not a legal entity, unless they are formally constituted as a partnership. A ‘group holding company’ will be a legal entity
A formal letter by an agency PSP to its sponsor nominating one of its customers as a service user
See section 2A.1 of the Service User's Guide and Rules of the Direct Debit Scheme
An organisation or bureau, who has successfully submitted test files and has been authorised by their sponsoring PSP to submit live files to Bacs
A service user may contract an organisation to manage its Direct Debit application. However, the service user must take full responsibility for the actions of the other organisation on their behalf
Has the same meaning as 'Standing Order Mandate'
See entry - 'Participant'
The process by which a Direct Debit Service User transfers non AUDDIS Direct Debit Instructions (DDIs) to the AUDDIS system
See - 'AUDDIS'
An arithmetical process to determine if there is a valid link between a sorting code and an account number range, i.e. whether a particular account number could exist at a specified sorting code
A customer who has an account at more than one PSP
National Insurance Number
The leading retail payments authority in the UK – formerly known as the New Payment System Operator / NPSO – was rebranded Pay.UK on 18 October 2018
See - 'Pay.UK'
The PSP holding the account to which the switch will be made i.e. the acquiring PSP
A PSP account from which a service user can originate payment instructions. The nominated account can be an individual account or a group individual account
The term given to direct debits which are lodged in paper form
The Payment Services Regulations 2017 introduced a class of firms, which are not traditional banks, authorised to provide payment services. These include: money remitters, certain network operators offering payment services, non bank credit card issuers, merchant acquiring firms, payment initiation service providers and account information service providers
Shall be deemed to have been given if the service user identifies the final collection under the expiring Direct Debit Instructions (DDIs) by use of transaction code 19
See - 'Expiry'
Message from acquiring ISA provider to ceding Cash ISA provider to notify that the transfer has been abandoned for a specified reason. This message is only valid PRIOR to payment
Message from acquiring ISA provider to ceding Cash ISA provider to notify that the transfer has failed for a specified reason. This message is only valid POST payment
Message from ceding Cash ISA provider to acquiring ISA provider that accepts a transfer request but notifies the acquiring ISA provider that the transfer cannot commence until a specified date as, for example, the account is fixed term or notice and the customer has not agreed to pay the penalty, or the product is a structured Cash ISA with fixed price/periodic exit dates
Message from ceding Cash ISA provider to acquiring ISA provider to notify that the transfer has been referred to the customer
The PSP holding the old account that is to be switched to the new PSP i.e. the ceding PSP
The old service user in the Bulk Change Process who is responsible for collecting Direct Debit payments before the bulk change (in some cases the legal identity of the service user will remain the same)
On or within three bank working days of the specified payment date given in the advance notice
The account from which a payment originates
Payments received by a PSP from Bacs for processing
Referral of a file, which exceeds the limit for the nominated account set up by the sponsor
The ‘vouchers’ downloaded from the Payment Services Website (or from sponsors as appropriate) for agencies that do not have a direct output stream and hence cannot receive AUDDIS transactions, e.g., 0Ns electronically
An organisation that participates in one of the payment schemes
These are: The sponsor, the service user and the payers PSP
The leading retail payments authority in the UK – formerly known as the New Payment System Operator / NPSO – was rebranded Pay.UK on 18 October 2018. Pay.UK became the responsible operator of the Bacs Direct Credit and Direct Debit payment systems on 1 May 2018 when Bacs Payment Schemes Limited simultaneously became a wholly owned subsidiary of Pay.UK. References to "Bacs" and "Pay.UK" are used interchangeably.
See - 'Paying PSP'
Live Direct Debit Instructions (DDIs), Standing Order mandates, bill payment authorities and internal transfers
The date when a Direct Debit is due to be debited to the payers account
Bacs' operational website that enables PSPs and service users to interact by uploading and downloading information, viewing reports and the status of submissions
The economic regulator launched 1st April 2015 is a subsidiary of the FCA. Its vision is to ensure that payment systems are accessible, reliable, secure and value for money
People who prefer to use Direct Debit for most of their bills
Proceeds of Crime Act (2002)
The process owners for Cash ISAs are UKF (formerly BBA), BSA & TISA jointly
The minimum time taken for a payment instruction to be submitted to Bacs for processing and the time it reaches the destination account. The processing cycle has four stages: arrival, input, processing and entry
See - 'Three-day cycle'
See - 'Bacs cycle'
Message from acquiring ISA provider to ceding Cash ISA provider to confirm that the payment may be initiated
A model for settlement where each transaction is settled individually in real time. CHAPS is the only interbank payment scheme to use this settlement model in the UK
See entry - 'Recalling PSP'
A PSP recalling a Bacs Direct Credit payment
Also referred to as destination account
See entry - 'Receiving PSP'
A PSP receiving payments for crediting the beneficiary or debiting the payer’s account
The name of the company as registered at Companies House
A trading name registered at Bacs for use under the Direct Debit Scheme
See entry - 'Remitting PSP'
A PSP making electronic payments directly into accounts held with other PSPs
A Direct Debit that has been returned unpaid to the service user being resubmitted for payment
When the paying PSP is unwilling to pay a Direct Debit collection or cheque, it will be returned unpaid. There are a number of reasons why this may happen, including insufficient funds, fraud, wrongly dated or unsigned
See - 'ARUDD for unpaid Direct Debit collections'
The Rules that apply to the operation and use of the Scheme and the Bacs Service, as amended from time to time by Bacs
People who are selective about their use of Direct Debit and use it for only some of their bills
A generic name used by an organisation which describes the service offered. This name may differ from the Service User’s Registered Name or Trading Name, e.g. ’Budget plan’
A company, group of companies, charity etc. that is sponsored to use one or more Bacs service. A service user may also be referred to as a payee/submitter/remitter. A Service User may be a PSP
Also see - 'Legal entity'
The technical specification for submission to Bacs
The unique six digit number allocated to organisations authorised to use the Bacs service
A single payment which in the case of Direct Debit will only be collected once. Only permitted for AUDDIS service users
An enterprise which: employs fewer than 50 people and has an annual turnover that does not exceed £6.5 million
A register of valid Bacs sort codes maintained by PSP's. This information may be held by service users to check a payers branch sort code
See entry - 'Sponsor/Sponsoring PSP'
A Bacs participant authorising organisations and bureaux to submit data for processing
A facility provided to ensure that Standing Order systems contain up to date Beneficiary details
An organisation that it permitted / authorised to offer customers Stocks and Shares ISAs
An high-speed bulk transmission channel that uses SWIFT's strategic messaging
Tax Incentivised Saving Association
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the conduct regulator for 58,000 financial services firms and financial markets in the UK and the prudential regulator for over 18,000 of those firms
The Guide expands on the paying PSP responsibilities to ensure they are aware and have an understanding of their responsibilities when accepting Direct Debit Instructions and processing subsequent collections from service
A document intended for service users who are required to apply the Rules of the Direct Debit Scheme and operate within the set procedures as defined
See - 'Bacs Cycle'
A name under which a company conducts its business. This name may differ from the service user’s registered name
The code used in connection with transactions processed via Bacs to determine that the Direct Debit payment is the first collection made under the DDI
The code used in connection with transactions processed via Bacs to determine that the Direct Debit payment is for a subsequent collection
The code used in connection with transactions processed via Bacs to determine that the Direct Debit payment has been represented for payment
The code used in connection with transactions processed via Bacs to determine that the Direct Debit payment is the final collection to be made under the DDI (the use of this transaction code advises the PSP to delete the DDI from its records and may also result in a 'final collection' message appearing on bank statements)
Message from acquiring ISA provider to ceding Cash ISA provider that initiates the Cash ISA transfer process
A suite of communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet
UK Finance trade body for the finance industry which includes what was the British Bankers Association
See - 'BBA'
A series of codes used to denote the reason for returning a Direct Debit unpaid via Bacs (ARUDD)
Confirm/match the details of the account holder (and registered contact where appropriate) provided by the acquiring ISA provider, for example by matching to the ceding Cash ISA provider’s records and / or contacting the account holder (and registered contact where appropriate) directly. The term can also be used to verify the payers details in the Direct Debit Scheme
Bacs Direct Credit and Direct Debit payments can be submitted to Bacs up to 30 days ahead of the processing day. They are held or 'warehoused' until the relevant input day of the payment