A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Account limit
A monetary limit set by the sponsor on an individual account to
restrict the value passing through for a fixed period
ADDACS
See Bacs Notifications
Additional Contact (AC)
A type of contact linked to a service user. An additional contact
cannot be given any privileges to maintain their service user or
other contacts but can still be allocated a Smart Card with
privileges to sign/submit payments and download reports
Advance Notification
The notice period (normally 10 working days plus postal time)
given to the payer in respect of the date of debiting and the
amount to be debited.
Agency bank
Any bank participating in the Bacs / Direct Debiting Scheme who is
not a sponsor.
Amalgamation of payments
Multiple or combined payments relating to more than one contract
collected under a single Direct Debit Instruction (DDI)
APACS
APACS is now known as the UK Payments
Administration.
API - Application Programming Interface
A set of program components which perform certain tasks and can be
used by other programs. e.g. Albany
eVERIFY can be supplied as an API. Other
programmers can then build applications which use the features of
Albany eVERIFY such as Web
Applications.
ARUCS
See Bacs Notifications
ARUDD
See Bacs Notifications
AUDDIS
See Bacs Notifications
AWACS
See Bacs Notifications
BAB
Bacs approved bureau - a commercial bureau awarded approved status
by Bacs
Bacs
An organisation and a system for transferring money to and from UK
bank accounts. Mainly used for business to business payments and
collections. It also manages the Direct Debit Scheme.
Read more on Bacs
»
Bacs Cycle
The three day cycle (minimum three English bank working days)
taken for a payment instruction to be submitted to Bacs for
processing and the time it reaches the destination account. The
processing cycle has the following stages: arrival, input,
processing and entry.
Read more on
the Bacs 3 day cycle here »
Bacs Direct Credit
Direct Credit is a simple, secure and reliable service, which
enables both large and small organisations to make payments by
electronic transfer directly into a bank or building society
account. It is mainly used for paying wages and salaries.
Bacs Notifications
Delivered via Bacs to provide business critical data in a
standardised format for reintegration with 3rd party applications
or provision in a readable format:
Bacs payment services website
A secure website for service users to download reports, view
submission information and manage PSC's and Additional
contacts.
Bacstel-IP
A service which employs Internet Protocol combined with PKI
security to access the Bacs 3 day service. May be accessed using
either the Payment Services website or Bacs approved software. The
service is used for submissions to Bacs, for report collection and
administration of user data.
BASS - Bacs Approved Software Service
Solution suppliers wishing to market Bacs connectivity packages
submit their products for testing and if approved, may market
themselves as suppliers of Bacs approved solution/software.
BICS - Bank Identification Codes
BICs are used to uniquely identify financial institutions to
facilitate cross-border automated payments, as defined by the SWIFT
BIC standard. BICs can comprise of 8 or 11 characters, and include
a bank code (4 characters), a country code (2 letters), a location
code (2 characters) and an optional branch code (3 characters).
Bureau
The role of the Bureau is to deliver payments via the payment
services at VocaLink (commonly referred to as Bacs) on behalf of
its customers. A Bureau is accredited by Bacs, undergoing rigorous
inspections at regular intervals. Different categories of bureaux
are: Commercial - Submitting data to Bacs on behalf of a totally
independent third party customers. Bank - offering members service
direct. In house commercial group - working solely for the group
and submits data to Bacs incorporating either a single company that
has different user numbers for different applications or a company
group where each individual company has its own user number(s).
Calendar day
A day according to the Gregorian calendar, for example, 11 July
2007
CHAPS - Clearing House Automated Payments
System
A system providing same day settlement between financial
institutions for low volume, high value transactions
Comma Separated Values (or Variable)
(CSV)
A common format for saving spreadsheet or database information.
Excel is able to open or save files in CSV format. Albany ePAY is
also able to import data in CSV format.
Consequential loss
A loss incurred by a payer which is a consequence of the direct
loss suffered as a result of an erroneous Direct Debit
transaction
Core reference
A unique reference on the Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) of a
minimum of six alpha numeric, upper case characters which matches
the DDI to the subsequent Direct Debit payments (Also see
reference)
Counter claim
A claim raised by a service user against a paying bank following
settlement of an indemnity claim which the originator believes to
be unjustified
Credit
A transaction that credits a destination account
CRM - Customer Relationship Management
An information industry term for methodologies, software and
usually internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage
customer relationships in an organised way.
Data record
A unit of information corresponding to a debit or credit
transaction
Direct Corporate Access (DCA)
Part of the Faster Payments service which provides a same day
clearing payment service to UK member banks. DCA will provide
banks' business customers with direct access to the Faster Payments
Service (FPS) clearing service in a very similar way that
Bacstel-IP provides access to Bacs.
Direct Credit
Direct Credit is a simple, secure and reliable service, which
enables both large and small organisations to make payments by
electronic transfer directly into a bank or building society
account. It is mainly used for paying wages and salaries - over 90%
of UK salaries are paid by this method.
DD - Direct Debit
A payment of an agreed amount collected electronically on request
by an Originator directly from an individual's bank account. The
amounts and dates may vary from payment to payment.
Read more on
Direct Debits »
Direct Debit Guarantee
The guarantee offered by the paying banks to payers in respect of
the Direct Debit Scheme specifying their rights and safeguards
DDI - Direct Debit Instruction
The authority signed by a customer allowing the Originator to
collect DD payments from the customer's account.
Direct Submitter
A service user that sends payment information directly to
Bacs.
Read more on Direct
Submitters »
Debit
A transaction that debits a destination account.
Destination account
The account to which a transaction is addressed.
Dormancy period
A period, normally 13 months, from Direct Debit Instruction (DDI)
lodgement or last Direct Debit payment, after which a paying bank
will drop details of a DDI because no payments have been
collected
Due date
The debit date as advised to the payer in the advance notice from
the service user
EDI - Electronic Data Interchange
A format for the exchange of data (in the form of messages)
between computer systems. It is commonly used in the retail
industry, as a means of exchanging order/goods related data. A
typical application of EDI is when a large retail organisation (the
hub) wishes to replace its paperwork with a more automated system
in order to communicate data to its suppliers (the spokes). The hub
and each spoke become trading partners and form a trading
relationship.
EDI Message Standards
Several industry specific standards have evolved. The main
standards supported by our eCONNECT
solution are:
EISCD
The EISCD is a comprehensive database of payment-related
information for UK banks and building societies. It contains
information about all bank offices or branches involved in the UK
clearing systems: Bacs, Faster Payments and Cheque and Credit
Clearing. The EISCD contains details such as sorting code, BIC,
branch title, postal addresses, telephone number and notes which
clearings each bank office participates in. The data can be
incorporated into systems to assist automating payments
processes.
Entry day (day 3)
This is the third day of the Bacs 3 day Cycle, the date the funds
are transferred via Bacs. Payments may be sent up to 31 days in
advance of entry date, This is also known as the Payment
Date.
EFT - Electronic Funds Transfer
The electronic transfer of money from one account to
another.
ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning
An information system or process integrating all manufacturing and
related applications for an entire enterprise, allowing
organisations to manage resources across the enterprise .
Faster Payments
Service
This new imitative facilitates almost 'real time' payments via
Bank internet accounts. Telephone banking services or via a service
similar to Bacstel-IP using a 'Secure IP' network, for Bacs Direct
Credit submitters (including Bacs approved bureaux)
Field
A field describes one data field, in terms of its syntax and its
length and its format. One or more fields form a record.
Field 9
The short name of the service user (maximum of 18 characters)
which appears in the Direct Debit payment record and may appear on
the payer's bank statement.
Field 10
The reference (maximum of 18 characters) applied to the Direct
Debit Instruction (DDI) by the service user when it is logged with
the paying bank. This must also appear in the Direct Debit payment
record.
Field 11
The Payer's account name (maximum of 18 characters). This must be
the name of the person who is paying The Direct Debit and has
signed the DDI (Direct Debit Instruction).
File
A self balancing set of records from a service user.
FTP
A standard network protocol used to exchange and manipulate files
over a TCP/IP based network, such as the Internet.
Garnishee order
Old name for third party debt order - an order of an English,
Welsh or Northern Irish court addressed to a bank to pay money from
a debtors account to a judgement creditor in satisfaction of a
judgement debt.
HSMs - Hardware Security
Modules
An HSM is a hardware device that secures private keys in a PKI
infrastructure. It is principally used where smart-cards are not
considered viable, particularly in larger businesses or where
user-interaction is undesirable (i.e.. an application running
"lights-out"). Within the Bacs framework, a HSM device can be used
in place of a smart-card to sign a file destined for, and
authenticate oneself with, Bacs.
HTML - Hypertext Markup Language
A document format language used in the creation of Web
pages.
HTTP
A networking protocol
IBANs - International Bank
Account Numbers
An IBAN is a unique series of alphanumeric characters that
identifies a customer's account held at any bank across the World.
IBANs have been introduced to help reduce errors associated with
complex cross-border transactions, providing a worldwide standard
format for displaying and validating international bank account
numbers. IBANs usually contain an ISO country code (2 characters),
two check digits for validation purposes, a domestic bank code and
the account number.
Indemnity
A document which contains a legally binding undertaking to make
payment to a paying bank in response to an indemnity claim . An
indemnity , in standard form, is an essential requirement of the
Direct Debit scheme.
Indemnity Claim
A claim made by the paying bank in respect of an incorrect Direct
Debit being applied to an account
Indirect Submitter
A service user that can originate payment information, but does
not send it to Bacs itself. It uses a Bureau to send payment
information.
Read more on indirect
submitters »
Input day (day 1)
The day the payment data is sent to Bacs.
Input deadline
Time by which a transmission must be completed (22.30) if the
items are to be processed on the following processing day
Input report
A report which confirms the processing of a payment file. A
notification will be emailed when the report is available to be
viewed and downloaded from the Bacs web channel.
Instruction
See Direct Debit Instruction (DDI)
Interbank transfer of Direct Debit
Instructions
A service to assist customers when moving their bank or building
society accounts by electronically transferring Direct Debit and
Standing Order information between banks or building societies.
Also known as Transfer of Direct Debit and Standing Orders
(ToDDaSO)
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of computer technologies that
enable many computers to exchange information reliably and
efficiently, where ever they may be, worldwide. IP is in very
widespread use and has become the de facto standard for data
networking. IP is the foundation of the global public Internet and
is also the dominant technology used by organisations sharing
private networks.
Irregular payments
Irregular payments, which occur more than once in a 13 month
period
ISCD - Industry Sort Code Directory
A database produced by Bacs which consolidates all Cheque and
Credit Clearing, CHAPS and Bacs Payment Schemes sort code related
information, as well as information held in the Reeds Sorting Code
Directory. The ISCD has now been replaced by the EISCD.
Item
A term used to describe a single Bacs transaction.
Item Limit
A ceiling monetary amount, requested by a service user, to be set
against individual items. When the limit is exceeded, the record is
noted on the input report
Limit value
A financial limit agreed with the sponsoring bank on an individual
account to restrict the value passing through that account for a
fixed period.
Live status
An organisation or bureau, who has successfully submitted test
files and has been authorised by their sponsoring bank to submit
live files to Bacs.
Local Master Key (LMK)
The LMK gives the HSM an identity that is unique to the
organisation using that HSM. The LMK is backed up to Smart Cards
which are used to restore the HSM in a Disaster Recovery
situation.
Lodgement (lodged)
The process of the paying bank accepting the Direct Debit
Instruction (DDI).
Member
A bank or building society that is a member of Bacs
Migration (AUDDIS)
The process by which an originator transfers non AUDDIS Direct
Debit Instructions (DDIs) to the automated AUDDIS system (Also see
AUDDIS)
Modulus Checking
An arithmetic check comparing a valid link between a sort code and
account number range. Modulus checking is used by Albany's
solutions to check the validity of account numbers for a sorting
code. This allows organisations to check the possible validity of
account details prior to submission to Bacs, drastically reducing
payment and collection errors and delays.
Nominated
account
The account quoted on a record as the originating account for a
particular organisation from which credit/debit transactions are to
be distributed
Notice of expiry
Is deemed to have been given if the originator identifies the
final payment under the expiring Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) by
use of transaction code 19.
OFTP - Odette File Transfer
Protocol
Used to send EDI files over Value Added Networks (VAN's).
Originating account
The account from which a payment originates
Originator (This term is no longer used)
This is an old term and has been replaced with Service User.
Originator Identification Number (OIN)
The same 6 digit number as the service user Number (SUN) that is
used by organisations to send Direct Submitter payments to Bacs
over the Bacstel-IP network. The term OIN has been superseded by
the term SUN however some banking institutions still refer to the
OIN in their documentation.
Overlimit
Referral of a file, which exceeds the limit for the nominated
account set up by the sponsor.
Payer
The person who by signing a Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) has
given authority for his/her account to be debited by the service
user using the Scheme.
Payers branch
The paying bank branch holding the payers account to be
debited.
Paying bank
The bank maintaining the payers account.
Payment date
The day on which the funds are paid, also known as the entry
date.
Personal Identification Number (PIN)
A unique 4 digit number associated with your Smart Card.
Preferers
People who prefer to use Direct Debit for most of their
bills
Processing cycle
The minimum time taken for a payment instruction to be submitted
to Bacs for processing and the time it reaches the destination
account. The processing cycle has four stages: arrival, input,
processing and entry.
Processing day (day 2)
Is the second day of the Bacs Cycle.
Proxy Server
A Proxy server's main purpose is to allow access and to deny
access to certain web pages on the internet. It is a secure way to
access the internet.
PDF - Portable Document Format
Type of electronic document which can be read by Adobe acrobat
reader. Versions of acrobat reader are available for most types of
computer, thus making PDF a useful format for documents distributed
on the web.
PKI - Public Key Infrastructure
Public Key Infrastructure is a computer technology for secure
exchange of information amongst individuals and computer systems.
It allows a trusted organisation, such as a bank, to issue Digital
Certificates to people and organisations that need to trust each
other. It is generally used in conjunction with IP. The
certificates are used by their holders to prove their identity.
They can also digitally sign documents and transactions. The
signature proves the authenticity of the transaction and proves
that the data exchange has not been modified or tampered with.
Digital signatures are now acceptable in a court of law. The same
technology is also used to encrypt data in transit so nobody other
than the intended recipient can read it.
Receiving
account
Also referred to as destination account.
Record
In Bacs terms a record corresponds to a credit or debit
transaction.
or
A group of fields are constructed to produce a record. One or more
records form an application template.
Reference
This is the number allocated by an originator to each individual
DDI and Direct debit.
Refund request
A claim which is not covered by the valid claim criteria.
Generally where a bank has made a payment in error.
Remittance Advices
Used to detail payments to your suppliers. They remove the need to
send suppliers a letter with your payment and can be produced and
distributed electronically using one of Albany's e-document
distribution solutions.
Re-presentation
A Direct Debit that has been returned unpaid to the originator
being resubmitted for payment.
Secure-IP
The delivery channel for the Faster Payments Service
Selectives
People who are selective about their use of Direct Debit and use
it for only some of their bills
SEPA (Single Euro Payment Area)
A single payment area in the EU to allow consumers and businesses
to move currency across the EU as easily, safely, efficiently and
inexpensively as it does within current national borders.
Service user
An organisation that has been sponsored by their bank to use the
Bacs service to make payments.
Service user number (SUN)
A unique 6 digit number allocated to a service user to enable
identification with and use of Bacs Payment Schemes.
Single payment
A single payment can be defined as a Direct Debit which will only
be collected once only, or a one-off payment.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
A messaging standard used to send and receive email.
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)
A protocol for exchanging XML-based messages over a computer
network, normally using HTTP. It is widely used for applications
such as eVERIFY, due to it being platform
independent and firewall friendly.
Solution supplier
A Bacs solutions supplier is a company that provides Bacs approved
software solutions to businesses that wish to access the Bacs
service. These solutions include Bacstel-IP software and hardware
packages, mailbox services for Bacs reports and total management
solutions to handle and run Direct Debit and Direct Credit
systems.
Sort code directory
This is a register of valid Bacs sort codes maintained by the
paying banks. This information may be held by originators to check
a payer's bank branch sort code.
Sort code
A six digit code uniquely identifying the location of where an
account is held
Smart Card & Smart Card Reader
A Smart Card is a credit cared sized plastic card containing a
microchip which holds information in a digital format that
identifies a user to Bacs and authorises them to do any signing,
submitting or retrieving reports inline with their product rights.
Smart Cards are provided by your Sponsoring Bank, and require a
Smart Card reader to transmit user information and credentials to
Bacs.
Sponsor/sponsoring bank
Bacs member authorising organisations and bureaux to submit data
for processing. Though the term sponsoring bank is often used, this
actually refers to banks and building societies.
SQL
This is a Microsoft database that can be used as the back-end to
specific Albany software products normally utilised for larger
scale installations. Please note Albany do not supply or license
the Microsoft SQL product.
Three day cycle
The service offered by Bacs where the minimum time taken for the
processing cycle is three processing days. Input, processing and
entry occur on consecutive processing days
TIFF - Tagged Image File Format
A widely used file format for storing greyscale and colour images,
typically used by eCONNECT to deliver by
fax.
ToDDaSO - Transfer of Direct Debit and Standing
Orders
A service to assist customers when moving their bank/building
society accounts by electronically transferring Direct Debit and
Standing order information between banks / building
societies.
Transaction code
A series of codes used in connection with transactions processed
via Bacs determining the type of transaction. In the context of
Direct Debiting there are a number of codes for Direct Debits
already in use, 01, 17, 18, 19. AUDDIS requires three new
transaction codes for AUDDIS DDI messages - these are '0N' (new
DDI), '0C' (cancellation of an existing DDI) and '0S' (existing
manually set up DDI being converted to AUDDIS specification). In
all AUDDIS transaction codes the leading character is a zero.
Credit Payments commonly used code 99.
Unpaid Direct
Debit
A Direct Debit that is returned uncollected by the paying bank,
for example, insufficient funds
Unpaid Direct Debit reason codes
A series of codes used to denote the reason for returning a Direct
Debit unpaid either by automated means via Bacs (ARUDD) or by
manual advice.
VAN - Value Added
Network
Value Added Network is a telephone cable network which acts like a
'private internet'. Used for sending messages for electronic
trading via EDI and offers better security than the internet.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A way of setting up a secure connection between two or more
computers via the internet. A VPN can be used to securely connect
to a LAN via the Internet using shared security keys and allows you
to communicate using a local IP address rather than the external
address, i.e. from the ISP through the Internet commonly known as
tunnelling.
VocaLink
VocaLink Limited (formerly Bacs Ltd) is the commercial company
under contract to Bacs that physically processes the payment
data.
Read more on
VocaLink »
WAN - Wide Area
Network
WANs are used mainly to connect LANs together, so that users and
computers in one location can communicate with users and computers
in other locations. Most WANs are built for particular
organisations and are private.
XML
A standard which describes markup languages (see HTML.) XML allows
information to be stored or transferred in a structured manner,
enabling disparate programs to 'understand' its meaning.
Our Solutions
Case Studies
Request a Callback
Subscribe to our Newsletter
