Category
UK Payment Systems
The main systems and identifiers used to move money in the UK and internationally.
Behind many familiar payments sits a payment system or identifier that decides how the money is routed, how quickly it is expected to arrive, and what details are needed. UK banking customers may meet these terms when sending a transfer, receiving wages, making a same-day high-value payment or sending money abroad.
This category explains systems and identifiers including Faster Payments, Bacs, CHAPS, SWIFT, IBAN, BIC and Confirmation of Payee. It keeps the focus on what each term means in everyday UK banking while also giving students and professionals enough context to understand the operational difference between the rails.
9 terms
UK Payment Systems terms
- Bacs payment Bacs UK payment systems A Bacs payment is a UK electronic payment processed through the Bacs system, commonly used for Direct Debits and regular bulk credits such as payroll.
- BIC BIC Business Identifier Code UK payment systems A BIC is a code that identifies a bank or financial institution, often used with an IBAN for international payments.
- CHAPS payment CHAPS UK payment systems A CHAPS payment is a UK same-day bank transfer system often used for high-value or time-critical sterling payments.
- Confirmation of Payee CoP UK payment systems Confirmation of Payee is a UK account name checking service that helps customers see whether entered payment details match the intended payee.
- Contactless payment UK payment systems A contactless payment is a card or device payment made by tapping near a reader, usually using near field communication technology.
- Faster Payments FPS UK payment systems Faster Payments is a UK payment system used for many near real-time bank transfers between participating accounts.
- IBAN IBAN International Bank Account Number UK payment systems An IBAN is an International Bank Account Number used to identify a bank account in a standard format for many cross-border payments.
- SWIFT payment SWIFT UK payment systems A SWIFT payment is an international bank transfer using SWIFT messaging to help financial institutions send payment instructions across borders.
- Working day UK payment systems A working day is a day when banks, payment systems or financial firms treat normal business processing as available under their rules.