What is Bacs? Guide to Bacs payments - Starling Bank (2024)

FAQs

What is Bacs? Guide to Bacs payments - Starling Bank? ›

Bacs payments are a safe and reliable way of transferring money. To make a Bacs payment you'll typically need to know the other party's name, bank, account number and sort code. You'll also need the same details for the account you're withdrawing from.

There are two options to process Bacs direct credit payments, or “Bacs out”. You either run it through your bank, or you go to a Bacs Approved Bureau to process your Bacs payments. Either way, in order to make a Bacs payment as a business you'd have to sign up with Bacs in one way or the other.

To make Bacs Direct Credit payments you submit your payment data - including amount of each payment, PSP account numbers, sort codes and dates - via a bureau or direct access depending on which method you choose. The data is sorted into payments to each of the PSP and then transmitted to each institution.

24/7 access to the Faster Payment System (FPS)

We can also facilitate Bacs payments and inbound CHAPs payments.

If you pay the household bills or use a subscription service, you will have made a payment via BACS before. This is where you give permission for a company to automatically take payments from your account on an agreed schedule, such as each month. Examples include mortgage payments, utility bills or council tax.

The equivalent system to the UK's Bacs is the Automated Clearing House, or ACH. This network only works within the United States, so you won't be able to send payments to UK clients using ACH. It also only applies to banking rather than debit or credit card payments.

Is Bacs the same as bank transfer? Bacs is the same as a bank transfer and both can be used to mean the same thing. Money is transferred in the standard bank to bank way via the internet or phone banking. The only thing to note is that other types of bank transfers that you may hear about are Faster Payments and CHAPs.

Your bank allows you to credit another account using either your personal or your business banking service. You'll need the name of the payee, the name of their bank, the payee's bank account number and the sort code.

BACS payments take longer than CHAPS payments to clear and are normally used for low-value transactions (by banking standards, at least). The upper payment limit for BACS payments is £250,000 per transfer.

ISO 20022 is an international messaging standard being used increasingly in the UK. Bacs payments messages however use a format known as Standard 18.

Which banks are linked to Starling Bank? ›

We provide you with the ability to payout Direct Debits and Direct Credits, operated by Bacs Payment Schemes Limited.

The most common reason is there is not enough money in your account or incorrect payee details.

A Bacs payment is a bank-to-bank transfer between banks in the UK. There are two main Bacs payment types, characterised either by: Direct Debit: When you have given another party permission to take money from your bank account.

Bacs allows you to schedule regular payments via its direct credit or direct debit payments options. This is the reason why the UK Government uses Bacs for pension and welfare payments, and why it is the most popular payment method for employers paying employees.

The allocation of sort codes is managed by BACS. These numbers are six digits long, formatted into three pairs which are separated by hyphens.

While Bacs Direct Debit is a UK-centric system, businesses outside the UK can accept Bacs Direct Debit payments from UK-based customers under certain conditions.

Please use the following bank details:

Use your 15 digit American Express Card number as the reference. Your Faster Payment or BACS payment will update your balance as soon as it has been received.

Bacs Direct Credits via Online Banking. Make single or bulk Bacs Direct Credit payments via Online for Business. Suitable for businesses that do not have a Bacs Service User Number and are looking to make Bacs Direct Credit payments in small volumes.