Confidence in the
UK Faster Payments Service (FPS) has grown rapidly in the first
six months according to figures released by payments association,
Apacs.
The FPS offers users the ability to make internet banking and
telephone transfers between banks in
near real-time,
taking hours rather than days.
The FPS, launched at the end of May 2008, reached a new daily
record of nearly four million internet, phone and standing order
payments on 1 December 2008.
In the first six months, the number of transactions increased
from 334,000 to more than 16 million and the total value of
payments increased from £209m to more than £5bn.
The FPS had processed £24.9bn of transactions by November 2008,
when Apacs said the service was processing two-thirds of all phone
and internet payments in the UK.
Less than half of all standing orders are handled by FPS, but
this service was rolled out a month later than phone and internet
payments.
More than 40% of all credit card accounts are now payable
through the FPS, with three credit card companies offering the
service.
Other credit card companies are carrying out the IT work needed
to use the FPS, Apacs said.
The FPS was set up through a joint initiative by the Office of
Fair Trading and 13 UK banks.