BACS Transfers - how long?

DesG

IoweIoweitsofftoworkIgo wrote:

My bank's cut-off is 8pm, any trans, inc Bacs payments, are debited that day, & reaches beneficiary, if at a different bank, 2 w.d. later.

Is it a competition to guess which bank?

Cheers, Des.

msaquib

Are BACS payments free?

I work for a Debt Management Team and when I ask customers to pay by BACS 4/10 comes saying bank are charging them to pay by BACS.

I always thought that BACS payment are free and CHAPS are only chargeable because of same day transfer process.

So are BACS chargeable?

Thanks
M

babe_ruth_3

well I can't say how other banks determine what a 'bacs' payment is but we have a business account with hsbc and we have the option to make a payment by either:

1. bill payment
2. bacs payment

The difference being with bacs you choose the day that you would like the receipient to receive it (as long as you allow at least 2 working days)

With bill payment it leaves your account on the day you choose and can take several days to reach its destination (in other words you can't say for sure what day it will land) unlike a bacs payment.

The only reason I understand this is because I do it on a daily basis with our account. Things like the credit card are paid by bacs and land with MBNA the exact day that they are due.

tom188

msaquib wrote:

Are BACS payments free?

I work for a Debt Management Team and when I ask customers to pay by BACS 4/10 comes saying bank are charging them to pay by BACS.

I always thought that BACS payment are free and CHAPS are only chargeable because of same day transfer process.

So are BACS chargeable?

Thanks
M

I cant think of anyone who charges for bacs payments at the moment, although you cant make them in bank branches.

Mikeyorks

babe_ruth wrote:

With bill payment it leaves your account on the day you choose and can take several days to reach its destination (in other words you can't say for sure what day it will land) unlike a bacs payment.

Sorry .. but I find the whole post really confusing.

BACS is short for Bankers Automated Clearing System and is exactly that .. an independent system used by all the Banks etc as a money transmission system. So virtually all electronic payments you can initiate outside your own provider (SO, Bill payment, Transfer etc) go via BACS and it's a standard 3 day mechanism - but Day 1 is determined by the time (normally prior 2000hrs) you provoke the payment. Similarly all Direct Debits use the BACS links - when initiated by your creditors.

A Bill payment is virtually identical to a Standing Order, and you can normally store the data and re-use it later, if you choose. The real distinction is that a SO has a specific date / value associated with it. Whereas a Bill payment is ad-hoc and only stores the target account data. Both would go by BACS.

So if it's a payment via the BACS system then it's a standard transmission time whether it be a Bill payment, SO or whatever. And I really question that HSBC allow you to set a 'target' date for the payment (as opposed to a forward 'release' date) .. as that would make them responsible for the odd delays when BACS has a glitch. I can see them signing up to what is in their jurisdiction (getting the payment away on time) .. but not what is outside their control (it getting to the target account on time).

Milarky

Lloyds payments don't leave your account on the date you request them (i.e. you can't seem to 'set up and pay' as you can do with any number of bank accounts) but Biggles post #6 implies this doesn't delay the receipt at the other end

Note that your bank will probably take the money from your account before Entry Day, probably on Day 1, though LTSB don't take it till Day 2.

I've noticed when paying credit cards in the last year that some (HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax) receive payment just one day after it leaves my current account (Nationwide). These payments were sent, moreover, without any prior notice on my part - ie no lead in times. (Curious)

Biggles

msaquib wrote:

Are BACS payments free?

I work for a Debt Management Team and when I ask customers to pay by BACS 4/10 comes saying bank are charging them to pay by BACS.

I always thought that BACS payment are free and CHAPS are only chargeable because of same day transfer process.

So are BACS chargeable?

Anything's chargeable if the bank wants to charge for it!

Yes, BACS involves a small charge to the bank (only small because it's automated). IIRC when I used to operate BACS this used to be 8p, though I don't know whether that's changed or not; most banks seem to round this down to 0 but I guess there'll always be one or two that round it up ;-)

babe_ruth_3

Mikeyorks wrote:

Sorry .. but I find the whole post really confusing.

BACS is short for Bankers Automated Clearing System and is exactly that .. an independent system used by all the Banks etc as a money transmission system. So virtually all electronic payments you can initiate outside your own provider (SO, Bill payment, Transfer etc) go via BACS and it's a standard 3 day mechanism - but Day 1 is determined by the time (normally prior 2000hrs) you provoke the payment. Similarly all Direct Debits use the BACS links - when initiated by your creditors.

A Bill payment is virtually identical to a Standing Order, and you can normally store the data and re-use it later, if you choose. The real distinction is that a SO has a specific date / value associated with it. Whereas a Bill payment is ad-hoc and only stores the target account data. Both would go by BACS.

So if it's a payment via the BACS system then it's a standard transmission time whether it be a Bill payment, SO or whatever. And I really question that HSBC allow you to set a 'target' date for the payment (as opposed to a forward 'release' date) .. as that would make them responsible for the odd delays when BACS has a glitch. I can see them signing up to what is in their jurisdiction (getting the payment away on time) .. but not what is outside their control (it getting to the target account on time).

I can only speak from my experience with hsbc business banking and they way their system operates.

To quote them:

Bill payments are debited on day 1 and credited on day 3.

Bacs payments are debited and credited on Day 3.

And yes, with the bacs payment you choose the target date.

They charge 35p for every bacs payment

babe_ruth_3

just wanted to say also that the bacs payment where you choose the target date is not available to personal banking, or at least it wasn't last time I looked.

pknottm

babe_ruth wrote:

just wanted to say also that the bacs payment where you choose the target date is not available to personal banking, or at least it wasn't last time I looked.

I've just set up a BACS transfer with my personal Coventry First Account to transfer £31,500, to arrive in the destination account next Monday.
It just sits there as a pending payment, which can also be cancelled anytime before it leaves my account (Thursday).