The Faster Payments service was introduced in May 2008 and is a completely new way of making payments in the UK. Separate from Bacs and CHAPS, the Faster Payments service significantly increases the speed of UK credit transfers from one account to another and enables consumers and organisations to send same-day payments at a considerably lower cost than CHAPS.

Not all accounts can be reached by Faster Payments or be processed in real-time. Confirming that the beneficiary account support Faster Payments and eliminating transaction errors prior to submission is critical to providing a successful service.

Banks' customers are currently able to initiate Faster Payment services via Internet and telephone banking. As consumers become more familiar with Faster Payments, organisations will face more pressure for payments to be made in near real-time.

Whilst Faster Payments can be generally sent via online banking, since September 2009, corporate organisations have had the option to directly initiate Faster Payments for their customers via Direct Corporate Access (DCA). However, to handle the requirements of near real-time payment processing, corporates need to make significant changes to their current payment systems.

Faster Payments enables corporates to:

• improve customer service
• differentiate from the competition
• lower costs
• reduce risk

How we can help you make Faster Payments

Bank Wizard and Bank Wizard Absolute confirm the validity of account details and enable you to identify where a Faster Payment can be made. This allows you to route payments correctly and ensure successful implementation of your Faster Payments service.

Experian Payments Gateway is the most scaleable Bacstel-IP and Secure-IP solution available. Designed for any organisation submitting payments to the Bacs 3 day service or Faster Payments - Direct Corporate Access (DCA), it is ideally suited to large organisations and bureaux as well as those with complex payment requirements or a mission critical reliance on payments.

To find out more about the benefits of the UK Faster Payments service to corporate organisations download the Faster Payments Guide for Corporates