What Is A BACS Payment? | Transfer Times – HSBC UK (2024)

FAQs

What Is A BACS Payment? | Transfer Times – HSBC UK? ›

A BACS payment normally takes three working days to go through, as long as it's sent before the cut-off time. So if a BACS payment is sent Friday before the cut-off time, it should arrive by Tuesday the next week.

Usually, a Bacs payment takes three working days to go through. This applies both to Direct Debits and Direct Credits. The Bacs payment processing time typically goes like this: A payment is submitted to the Bacs system.

In most cases, funds arrive in the recipient's bank account within seconds. Faster Payments may occasionally take up to 2 hours to go through but this is uncommon. However, you should use these timeframes as a general estimate.

Pending transactions can include: Direct Debits. Debit card transactions (you can see these in the app, but not in online banking) Salary, pension and dividend payments made by Bacs.

The reason a BACS payment typically takes 3 days to clear is that there's a cycle that posits the company submits the payment on the first day, the payment is delivered to the bank of the recipient on the second day and the payment is settled on the third day.

Bacs processing cycle

Input day is the latest day a business user/bureau may submit a payment file to Bacs for a processing cycle. Payment files must be transmitted to Bacs between 07.00 and 22.30.

Here's how the process works: Day 1: The Bacs payment request is submitted. Day 2: The recipient bank receives the payment request. Day 3: The transaction is settled, and funds cleared to the recipient account.

You can input BACS payments up to 6.45pm and Bill Payments up to 7.45pm (for payments to other banked customers). There's no cut-off time for Bill Payments made to other HSBC accounts.

Transfers completed before 1:00pm will be credited by 6:00pm.

HSBC uses the Faster Payments system, which means that your transfer should be sent instantly and received by the recipient within 2 hours³. However, it depends on whether your recipient's bank also uses Faster Payments. Payments to accounts outside the EEA – up to 4 working days.

Can a Bacs payment be instant? ›

However, a Bacs payment can also be a Direct Debit, which is the opposite of a bank transfer - meaning your finance team pulls funds out of a customer's bank account. Bacs payments are not same-day payments or instant, but are still the number one bank payment method businesses use.

Choice of Bacs payment methods

Make Bacs payments through HSBCnet, HSBC Connect or through a Bacs Bureau of your choice.

Different Lenders Have Their Fund Release Timeframe

Other lenders like Halifax release the funds after the exchange of contracts, so it takes the lender an average of 8 to 12 days. On the other hand, some lenders like HSBC may take as long as 2 weeks to release mortgage funds.

A BACS payment normally takes three working days to go through, as long as it's sent before the cut-off time. So if a BACS payment is sent Friday before the cut-off time, it should arrive by Tuesday the next week.

Our standard transfer time for payments made to non-HSBC accounts through the mobile banking app is 1 to 3 days. For selected currencies and destinations, faster payment times are available. Based on the destination and local currency the fastest transfer time will be chosen, and it will be displayed in the app.

Bacs payments are usually credited between 1 am and 7 am on the third day, however, if the payments haven't been made by 7 am on the allocated date, it's likely it will need to wait until the next day. This can be tricky if you're paying salaries, so make sure you know the Bacs payment time to manage any expectations.

A Bacs payment takes three business days to clear. The Bacs process begins with the payment file being submitted to the Bacs system, prior to a cut-off time. On the second day the file is processed by the bank and on the third day, the payment is credited to the recipient's bank account.

Bank transfers in the UK are powered by Faster Payments. As you may expect from the name, Faster Payments was introduced to improve the speed of normal bank transfers. As a result, most bank transfers are instantaneous, although in some cases, payment can take up to two hours.

Once made, Bacs payments usually take 2-3 days to clear, so they aren't suitable for urgent transactions. Bacs payments typically arrive in the target account by 7 am on the day they clear.

First find out how the organisation sent it e.g. via Bacs. Also ask them for the sort code and account number they quoted on the payment, and the date they requested it to be credited to your account. Next contact your payment service provider​ (PSP) to ensure that they haven't received the payment.