Faster Payments - restrictions

EalingSaver

First Direct is initially limiting FPs to single payments only, with SOs only coming on stream end of '08/start of '09. I saw someone else mention on here that their bank had a similar restriction.

Is this common, and does anyone know what the banks' rationale for this is? Surely the fact that a payment is one off or by SO is internal to the paying banks system and has nothing to do with the 'connection point' between the banks.

On the face of it feels like this limitation is for one of two reasons:
a) Delaying tactics to prevent wholesale move over to faster transactions (lets face it, the banks have come to this rather grudgingly); or
b) delaying tactics for good infrastructure rollout reasons i.e. they want to build up the throughput through the new systems incrementally and not risk overstressing the systems.

Paul_Herring

EalingSaver wrote: »

Is this common, and does anyone know what the banks' rationale for this is?

Restrictions on FP in general are common. Some only currently allow transfers below a certain limit to go through FP. Some are restricting the types of transfers. Some aren't participating yet.

The reason is they're 'live testing' the system. Gearing it up slowly so to speak.

For an example of what could happen if they put everything online, straight away, for all banks, you need look no further than the debacle that was Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

Milarky

EalingSaver wrote: »

First Direct is initially limiting FPs to single payments only, with SOs only coming on stream end of '08/start of '09. I saw someone else mention on here that their bank had a similar restriction.

Is this common, and does anyone know what the banks' rationale for this is?

A standing order differs from a single payment mainly in the fact that there are a lot more standing order payments to put through and unlike single payments - which you submit at any time and individually to the FP infrastructure - standing orders will have to be 'batched' into the FP system in some way - probably all at the same time of day. That actually requires additional capacity.

In other words, standings orders will be the first time the FP system will have been 'used in anger'.