You may ask ‘Why are my payments sometimes delayed?’. Bacs, direct debit and debit/credit card payments work on a same day, next day, three days and up to 10-day processing cycle.
Typical card payment processing cycles work on a T+ 3 basis, meaning payments take three working days to clear. The transaction (T) is submitted on the first day, processed by the bank on the second & third day, and taken from the sender's account and credited to the recipient simultaneously on the third day.
However, Bank Holidays can impact this time period due to the banks being closed. For example, if you process a card payment on a Bank Holiday Monday, the transaction won’t be processed until the Tuesday. This means you won’t receive payment on the Thursday as usual but on the Friday instead.
This also means that you need to plan ahead to avoid delaying or missing your essential payments to suppliers and staff over the Bank Holidays.
Card payment cycles are moving to next day funding which means you still need to be aware at the end of the month.
Plan ahead with the 2018 Bacs processing calendar
Bacs produce a valuable calendar to help ensure processing dates for collecting direct debits aren’t overlooked during Bank Holidays. It is a real time saver and also supplies you with the important dates needed when processing payment files. If you collect payments on a bank holiday, then payments will be delayed by a day.
Useful tips for using the calendar and processing payments:
• Payment files can be submitted up to 30 calendar days before the processing date. However, if you submit your file in advance it’s worth bearing in mind that ADDACS (Automated Direct Debit Amendment and Cancellation Service) and AWACS (Advice of Wrong Account for Credits Service) advice may be received between the advance submission date and the due date.
• Make sure your payment software reflects the Bacs non-processing days (Bank Holidays). You can speak with your Bacs approved software supplier if you are not sure how to do this.
• Share the calendar with all colleagues involved in processing Bacs payments.
• Don’t forget to review your payment submissions. You can review them using the Payment Service Website.
The Bacs 2018 calendar is available to download here.