BACS Transfers - where does the money go?

cottager

Sceptic001 wrote: »

All the accounts I use deduct the money straight away..

Same here. OH is a sole trader and not a "service user" -- I pay regular suppliers from Natwest monthly with the normal online banking service, and all but one now go as Faster Payments. The one exception's account (held with Bank of Ireland from memory) cannot accept FPs and goes via BACS instead, so I need to pay them 2 days earlier than the rest. The amount leaves our account that same day and goes into limbo till received at the other end.

HMRC's a/c at Citi doesn't accept FPs yet either, so our VAT, PAYE and his twice-yearly i/tax have to go out by BACS 2 days earlier than the relevant deadlines -- a real niggle, specially when the due dates are Sat/Sun as the payments need to be made the previous Wednesday to make it by the Friday. In all cases the funds leave our a/c that day, whether arranged "on the day" before 6.30 pm or scheduled in advance. A few days here or there might not seem a big deal, but large amounts having to go out even a little early like this by BACS can be problematical for cashflow; and if an overdraft's involved then we'd pay more interest than if the payments were received instantly and could be made same-day.

Our Natwest personal accounts are the same, and though in practice by now I don't think we pay anyone whose accounts can't accept FPs, when they did go via BACS the funds were taken immediately. Some other banks evidently do things a little differently.