Faster payments: how do they work?

Category: Banking

Faster payments: a way to make payments faster. But how fast exactly? And how do you go about making one from your bank account?

Using faster payments can mean the difference between paying or missing that red bill, or your child at university having no money for a couple of days or getting desperately-needed funds on the same day you transfer them.

How do faster payments work?

The Faster Payments Service allows customers of certain banks or building societies to make quicker electronic payments or transfers over the phone or using online banking.

Funds can be transferred and accessed within a couple of hours instead of days, whilst standing orders can be set up in a single day.

Banks and building societies operating the Faster Payments Service can process payments and transfers 24 hours a day, any day of the week.

2 things to check when making a faster payment

There are two things you need to check before you can make a faster payment:

• Does your current account provider take part in the Faster Payments Service? Not all banks and building societies do.

Most of the larger banks or building societies offer faster payments – you can find a list of those who do here.

• Check that the company you are making the payment to accepts faster payments (you should be able to find this information on the reverse of a utility bill for instance, or by calling them).

If you're making a payment to a person, check that the bank or building society they are with will accept faster payments.

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