From today (6 June), standing orders can be paid through the new
Faster Payments Service, said UK payments body Apacs.
Following the introduction of the new service for telephone and
internet payments at the end of May, standing orders will now start
to be processed through the new infrastructure, enabling the
payments to clear on the day they are sent on bank working
days.
As with internet and phone payments, the roll-out will be
gradual, but it is expected that the majority of standing orders
will be processed faster through the new service by the end of the
year, said Apacs.
For the first time, instead of taking three days to clear, the
Faster Payments Service will enable standing orders to reach the
recipient on the same day, providing it is a bank working day and
the payment is for less than £100,000.
Standing orders are typically used to make regular charity
donations or subscriptions, for regular payments for life insurance
or endowment policies, and to make regular contributions to a
savings account.
Any payment not made through the new service will continue to be
processed through the existing Bacs three-day service.
The introduction of the Faster Payments Service for standing
orders comes following the successful start for the rollout of the
service for telephone and internet payments.
The millionth payment is expected to be processed by the end of
today (6 June), said Apacs.