So, anyone actually KNOW how the BACS process works?

Squibbler

That's interesting - I didn't see that post!

cwcw

agsnu wrote: »

The slowness of BACS is why Faster Payments have been set up. The banks are dragging their heels though.

Indeed. I made a BACS transfer from HSBC current account to Alliance and Leicester mortgage account to pay off a lump of the mortgage. Both banks are in the faster payments scheme and aim for a few hours transfer time.

On the day I made the transfer, I rang A&L at the close of play to check they'd received it. They hadn't. The following day I rang again and checked, and they said they'd received it and it had been processed but not "cleared", and it would take up to 4 working days for the funds to "clear" until which time I would still be paying interest on the original mortgage balance.

Basically, banks rip us off.

iamesbo

silps wrote: »

Do they even physically transfer the money in this day and age? If your wages are paid electronically to your bank and then you spend it electronically on your credit card I wonder if any hard cash ever gets moved about.

I would imaging that not much mone actually gets physically transfered, afterall there will be a lot of money flying around in the system and the net effect will be close to zero. You would only need to transfer a small amountif there was an imbalance
and most of the time I assume it would be cheaper to use the banks reserves than to physically transfer the money untill it became a large amount.

I expect most to the large cash transfers is to cash machines!

I worked as a programmer and made a BACS file to pay a payroll which would be sent on disk to the bank, it could also have been sent elecronically
Of course it just instructions to the bank, if there was no money in the employers account then obviously you would not get paid, it would still have to clear..

renard_2

Biggles wrote: »

. . . In the meantime, the funds will still be with your bank (earning them interest, obviously, though I'm not suggesting the delays are built in for that purpose, I suspect it's just sloppy programming; but you never know.....).

Come on, Biggles, it is an accepted fact that the whole system is designed so that the banks will have the use of our money for a couple of days.

Transfers are shown as coming out of your account on day one. From then on, you get no interest from that money. But the source bank doesn't have to part with the cash until DAY THREE. Think of all the lovely billions they get to play with on the exchanges for those precious days until they have to part with it.

A couple of years ago, when there were demands for the process to be speeded up in this electronic age (as, to their credit, many banks have opted to do), the banks said words to the effect: "If we are deprived of this means of raising cash, we may have to impose or increase bank charges to compensate us."

Please remember, people: the banks are not on your side, they are profit-making concerns who traditionally put their own interests first.

popmacca

cwcw wrote: »

Indeed. I made a BACS transfer from HSBC current account to Alliance and Leicester mortgage account to pay off a lump of the mortgage. Both banks are in the faster payments scheme and aim for a few hours transfer time.

On the day I made the transfer, I rang A&L at the close of play to check they'd received it. They hadn't. The following day I rang again and checked, and they said they'd received it and it had been processed but not "cleared", and it would take up to 4 working days for the funds to "clear" until which time I would still be paying interest on the original mortgage balance.

Basically, banks rip us off.

Don't use one then

popmacca

agsnu wrote: »

The slowness of BACS is why Faster Payments have been set up. The banks are dragging their heels though.

Banks are not "dragging their heels" the change to "faster payments" is bigger than the change to chip & pin cards & is a massive change to money transfer, the banks have to be certain the system is as least as robust as BACS & also that they can still moniter for fraud & money laundering...... both made more difficult by a faster payment method.

lectureral

I have noticed that when I transfer money from my Natwest c/a to my Northern Rock saving account it arrives the same day. However, it takes 2 days to move in the other direction.

I assumed that there was a very steep hill with Natwest at the top so that the donkeys took over twice as long to get back.

iamesbo

lectureral wrote: »

I have noticed that when I transfer money from my Natwest c/a to my Northern Rock saving account it arrives the same day. However, it takes 2 days to move in the other direction.

I assumed that there was a very steep hill with Natwest at the top so that the donkeys took over twice as long to get back.

Northern Rock is nationalised, they probably don't worry too much about whether the
money arrives or not, they can always dip into the money from the the BoE.
Also how do you know it has arrived? Just because it shows on the balance does not
mean it is there, you will only know it is there when you withdraw it such that it would make you overdrawn and you incur bank charges.
Natwest might just be more honest about the amount of money available in your account?

Squibbler

lectureral wrote: »

I have noticed that when I transfer money from my Natwest c/a to my Northern Rock saving account it arrives the same day. However, it takes 2 days to move in the other direction.

I assumed that there was a very steep hill with Natwest at the top so that the donkeys took over twice as long to get back.

LOL:rotfl: you just made me laugh!

I guess it takes a while to get to the top of these tall bank buildings. Maybe NR have a lift?

Biggles

renard wrote: »

Come on, Biggles, it is an accepted fact that the whole system is designed so that the banks will have the use of our money for a couple of days.

Transfers are shown as coming out of your account on day one. From then on, you get no interest from that money. But the source bank doesn't have to part with the cash until DAY THREE. Think of all the lovely billions they get to play with on the exchanges for those precious days until they have to part with it.

To be honest, 'our money' is only a small part of the billions flying around in the banking system, though I'm sure they see no harm in making a few bob extra here and there ;-)

On the other hand, LTSB's transfers don't leave your account till Day 2 (ie they only hold onto it for 24 hours instead of the more common 48) yet they are one of the more profitable banks, so I suspect it's not as simple as just hanging onto our money for as long as possible.