- For other meanings see: Bacs (disambiguation)
BACS (originally an acronym for Bankers' Automated Clearing Services) is a United Kingdom scheme for the electronic processing of financial transactions. Acronyms, initialisms, and alphabetisms are Abbreviations that are formed using the initial components in a phrase or name The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Direct Debits and BACS Direct Credits are made using the BACS system. Direct debit or direct withdrawal is a Payment system that allows an organisation to instruct their bank to collect varying amounts directly from customers' accounts BACS payments take three working days to clear: they are entered into the system on the first day, processed on the second day, and cleared on the third day. Working time refers to the period of time that an individual spends at paid occupational labor
BACS was invented by Dennis Gladwell and was started in 1968 as the Inter-Bank Computer Bureau, set up to develop electronic transfer of funds between banks and avoid the need for paper documents as part of the money transfer process. A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money The company operating the service adopted the name "Bankers Automated Clearing Services Limited" in 1971. A telephone service, BACSTEL, was introduced in 1983, reducing the need for magnetic tapes. Basic principle A traditional landline telephone system also known as "plain old telephone service" (POTS, commonly handles both signaling and audio information Magnetic tape is a medium for Magnetic recording generally consisting of a thin magnetizable coating on a long and narrow strip of Plastic. More banks and building societies joined in 1985, and the company shortened its name to "BACS Limited". A building society is a financial institution owned by its members, that offers banking and other Financial services, especially mortgage lending
On 1 December 2003, BACS Payment Schemes Limited (BPSL) was split from BACS Limited: BPSL is a "not for profit" body with members from the banking industry which promotes the use of automated payment schemes and governs the rules of the BACS scheme; BACS Limited owns the infrastructure to run the BACS scheme. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. BACS Limited was permitted to continue to use the BACS name for one year, and became Voca Limited on 12 October 2004. Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Voca Limited has since been merged with the UK national switch provider LINK Interchange Network Limited, the new company being called VocaLink. It is based at Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire. Rickmansworth is a town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles (7km west of Watford. Hertfordshire (ˈhɑːtfədʃə(r, abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of
Since 2003, BACS has been moving from the telephone dial-up BACSTEL service to an internet-based service, BACSTEL-IP, which is claimed to be quicker and more secure. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks All BACS users, including businesses that make payments to their suppliers or operate their staff payroll electronically, were required to move to BACSTEL-IP by the end of December 2005 or return to using cheques. A cheque (spelled check in American English) is a Negotiable instrument instructing a Financial institution to pay a specific amount of When the BACSTEL-IP service was introduced all software used to make a connection to BACS required BACS approval. It is now only possible to make a connection with software from the list of BACS Approved Solution Suppliers (BASS).
The BACS system, and in particular the time taken for money to move between accounts, has been widely criticised by consumer groups as inefficient and archaic, especially as it is the system used for money transfers made by telephone or internet banking. This compares unfavourably with other developed countries, particularly in Scandinavia, where the "Elle" system ("Early Late / Late Early") allows money transferred before lunchtime to reach a payee's account on the same working day, or money transferred after lunchtime to reach the payee's account the following morning. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well
In March 2005, the Office of Fair Trading proposed that such a system be introduced in the UK. The Office of Fair Trading ( OFT) is a Non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, In December of that year, plans were announced for its introduction in the period from the end of 2006 to 2008, with estimates of the time taken for such payments being between 15 minutes and 3 hours depending on the banks/building societies at each end of the transaction. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Voca Link are providing this service in the UK.
On 27 May 2008 the new Faster Payments system went live. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Faster Payments Service (FPS is a Banking initiative in the United Kingdom to reduce the time taken for 'low value' payments made person-to-person and business-to-business This new system has improved money transfer speeds between different banks in the UK enabling account holders with one bank to make virtually instant payments to those with another bank. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The system is still in its early stages and currently has a membership comprising the following banks: Abbey, Alliance & Leicester, Barclays, Citigroup, Co-operative Bank, Danske Bank (Northern Bank), HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society, National Australia Group (Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks), Northern Rock and RBSG (including Natwest and Ulster Bank). Between them, they represent 95% of the payments made in the UK. Those remaining banks and also building societies will be making decisions on how, when and if to join the scheme between 2008 and 2009. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common This article is about the year For the film see 2009 Lost Memories.
See also
External links
- BACS website
- Voca website
- APACS - the UK Payments Association Information on Cheque Clearing
- Criticism of BACS in Daily Telegraph article
- OFT welcomes details on faster clearance on electronic payments
- BBC News - Clearing times
- BBC News - Banking hitch delays workers' pay (29 March 2007)
- BACS Approved Solution Suppliers List
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