Faster Payments Service - 20 months on
The Faster Payments Service (FPS), now quickly approaching its second birthday, has generated a mixed response from the financial world since it was introduced in May 2008. The promise of affordable same-day payments was delivered in full by APACS and thanks to Direct Corporate Access (DCA), businesses can benefit from the system as well as consumers.
The first new payments system to be introduced in the UK for 20 years, FPS has so far processed over 290 million payments totalling in excess of £107bn. Initial buy-in was extremely strong, with 13 member banks onboard, however the recession created budgetary uncertainties among those offering FPS and meant that the range of services on offer differed greatly from bank to bank.
Currently, all of the 13 member banks can send and receive FPS, while many other banks and building societies are also up to speed (for a full list, visit www.chapsco.co.uk). Barclays remains the only bank capable of corporate FPS -via the DCA service- but many others are expected to follow suit once it is proven to be a success. Payment values are currently limited to £10,000 across the board, but this limit will be raised incrementally year on year as banks gain confidence in the system and momentum gains.
Likely improvements to the scheme, alongside the aforementioned value limit changes, include: an imminent change to 24/5 submission windows for consumer and DCA payments and European payment compatibility.
As fragmented as the stuttering early years of FPS have been, it's clear to see that many are already making the most of the low-cost CHAPS alternative. Consumers and businesses alike are already able to save a great deal of money by utilising the system and the next two years should provide even more in terms of functionality and flexibility.
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