Organisations

The Payments Council

Set up in 2007 to replace the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)'s Payment Systems Task Force.
The Payments Council currently consists of 29 members - including 11 banking representatives, 4 independent directors, an independent chairman and an observer from the Bank of England.
It works closely with the principal UK payment schemes (Bacs, CHAPS, LINK ATM Scheme etc.) to foster a culture of innovation and co-operation amongst the most influential organisations within the payments industry.
The principal UK payment schemes signed a contract with the Payments Council which requires them to report regularly to the Board - which has the ultimate power to make binding decisions on strategy.

VocaLink is the technical half of the Bacs partnership, which ensures that the logistical requirements needed to process the UK's payments are me and also manages the UK's ATM network.
Banks, and independent software developers such as Albany Software, supply the means to submit payments to the VocaLink infrastructure, which provides a secure and reliable transaction gateway.
On a peak day, the VocaLink payments platform is responsible for processing 90 million transactions, and over half a billion in a month.

Orignally known as APCAS, the UKPA is a trade body formed in 2009 to bring together banks, building societies and card issuers, providing them with a forum to discuss non-competitive issues.
It manages all of the UK payment systems, including cash, cheques, debit and credit cards, and automated payments such as Direct Debits, Direct Credits and online transactions.
The UKPA also oversaw the introduction of the Chip and Pin system and defines procedural practice for numerous aspects of the payments industry including debits and standing orders.