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BACS

ACH

UK Direct Debit & Direct Credit - 3-day cycle

NowHours: computing from the published schedule…Service condition: not monitored details

ClearingPost does not assess whether BACS is running normally.

Next

Dated items ClearingPost holds, each with its source and whether the date is confirmed

No supported upcoming items in ClearingPost's records for BACS.

ClearingPost holds sourced upcoming items for 10 of 150 systems; an empty list is a statement about ClearingPost's records, not about a system's plans.

Changed

All recorded changes →

Material, sourced changes ClearingPost recorded; corrections to its own record are labelled as such

  • Data updateBACS participant count increased to 33 (direct, end-2025, Pay.UK)
    32 (direct, end-2024, Pay.UK) changed to 33 (direct, end-2025, Pay.UK)
    recorded 28 Jul 2026 · Pay.UK Quarterly Statistical Report Q4 2025source ↗
  • Took effectBacs System Principles (v18 (January 2026))

    Updated Bacs information guide covering Direct Credit and Direct Debit scheme operations, settlement procedures, direct participant obligations, and 2026 fee schedules

    took effect 1 Jan 2026 · Pay.UKsource ↗

Rules & documents

The rulebooks, operating rules and standards documents ClearingPost holds for BACS, current version first

Sources ClearingPost reads Pay.UK · Authoritative (T1) · 10 of 16 fields carry a source and a recorded date · latest sourced entry recorded 16 Sep 2026 · evidence details ↓

Record · BACS

Country
United Kingdom (GB)
Currency
Pound Sterling (GBP)
Operator
Pay.UK
Type
ACH
Operating Window
07:00–23:00 UTC · Mon–Fri
Year Established
1968
Tier?
Tier 1
ISO 20022?
Legacy
Region
Europe
Settlement Type?
Net
Participants
33 (direct, end-2025, Pay.UK)
Avg Daily Transactions
~27.5M (12 months to Jul 2026, Pay.UK Monthly Statistics)
Avg Daily Value
~GBP 24.4B (12 months to Jul 2026, Pay.UK Monthly Statistics)
Notes

HM Treasury published 'Modernising Payment Services Regulation' consultation on 14 July 2026 (closes 6 October 2026). Proposes replacing PSRs 2017 and EMRs 2011 with FCA-led regulatory framework. Technical firm-facing requirements move from legislation into FCA rules; core consumer protections remain in statute. Covers tokenised payment services and agentic AI framework. Directly affects Bacs as a recognised payment system. Separate from the RPIB infrastructure consultation (25 June 2026, closes 11 September 2026) which focuses on next-generation clearing and messaging layer design.

Pay.UK official website →
Reference Sources
Pay.UK
Authoritative (T1)Entry recorded Mar 13, 2026
Status →
Reference Documents
Bacs System Principlesoperating rules
Pay.UK · v18 (January 2026) · Effective Jan 1, 2026
Latest recorded change

Updated Bacs information guide covering Direct Credit and Direct Debit scheme operations, settlement procedures, direct participant obligations, and 2026 fee schedules

Entry recorded Sep 16, 2026
View document →
See all ACH systems →See all systems in United Kingdom →ISO 20022 migration status →Payment rails by country →
Products on this rail
Bacs Direct Debitdirect debit
Pay.UK
Bacs Direct Creditcredit transfer
Pay.UK
Image Clearing Systemcheque clearing
Pay.UK
Current Account Switch Servicecredit transfer
Pay.UK
Other systems in the same country or region
T2 / TARGETRTGS
Eurozone · EUR · ECB / Eurosystem
SEPA SCTACH
Eurozone · EUR · EPC / CSMs
SEPA SDDACH
Eurozone · EUR · EPC / CSMs
SEPA InstFPS
Eurozone · EUR · EPC / RT1 / TIPS
EURO1Hybrid
Eurozone · EUR · EBA Clearing
CHAPSRTGS
United Kingdom · GBP · Bank of England

Operations · BACS

Operational monitoring: not configured. ClearingPost does not monitor operational sources for this system and does not assess its current service condition.

Operations lists the systems ClearingPost monitors and the operational events it has recorded.

Intelligence for BACS (6)

Coverage whose headline or summary names BACS, or names its operator or country together with its system type. Each item quotes that evidence and says whether the source is the BACS operator or external.

NewsJun 27, 2026Summary names “Bacs”
UK Opens Consultation on Next-Generation Retail Payments Infrastructure
The RPIB launched a consultation on the successor to Faster Payments and Bacs, proposing interoperability between bank deposits, regulated stablecoins, and a potential digital pound within a single payment rail.
External source · Bank of England
RegulationMay 1, 2026Summary names “BACS”
UK Treasury Confirms PSR Abolition and Launches Payments Modernisation Package
The UK government confirmed on 21 April that it will abolish the Payment Systems Regulator, transferring oversight of Faster Payments, BACS, and CHAPS to the FCA under a broader payments modernisation package that introduces stablecoin regulation and addresses AI-agent-initiated payments.
External source · GOV.UK
AnalysisApr 1, 2026Summary names “Bacs”
Bank of England Takes Lead on Next-Generation UK Retail Payments Infrastructure Design
Victoria Cleland chairs the new Retail Payments Infrastructure Board, which is designing next-generation infrastructure to succeed the current Faster Payments System and Bacs. Barclays UK CEO Vim Maru will lead the industry-owned Delivery Company expected to be established by mid-2026.
External source · Bank of England (RPIB)
AnalysisMar 28, 2026Summary names “BACS”
UK Payments Forward Plan Replaces NPA with Industry-Led Delivery Company
The governance shift arrives as BACS processes record volumes. The system cleared 6.81 billion payments worth GBP 5.8 trillion in 2024. Bank of England net settlement data shows daily average values rising 6.4 percent to GBP 5,604 million. Pay.
External source · HM Treasury
RegulationMar 21, 2026Summary names “BACS”
UK Payments Forward Plan Sets Three-Year Regulatory Roadmap, Confirming PSR-FCA Merger and Infrastructure Upgrades
The UK government published its first coordinated payments regulatory roadmap on 26 February 2026, confirming the Payment Systems Regulator will be absorbed into the Financial Conduct Authority by year-end, scheduling consultations on modernized payment services law for Q2 2026, and mandating short-term infrastructure upgrades to both Faster Payments and BACS before December.
External source · GOV.UK Payments Forward Plan
NewsMar 17, 2026Headline names “BACS”
UK Scraps New Payments Architecture: What the Rebrand to Interbank Infrastructure Renewal Means for Faster Payments and BACS
The Payment Systems Regulator has revoked Specific Direction 2 and Specific Direction 2a, which had mandated the NPA programme, and is reconsidering the implications for the SD3 compliance deadline of 1 July 2026.
External source · Payment Systems Regulator

Wider coverage that mentions BACS (7)

These articles mention BACS in their text but not in their headline or summary, so they are listed as context rather than as BACS intelligence.

RegulationApr 22, 2026Text mentions “Bacs”
HM Treasury Confirms PSR Abolition, Consolidating UK Payment System Oversight Under the FCA
Britain will merge all payment system oversight into a single supervisor after HM Treasury confirmed on April 21 that the Payment Systems Regulator will be dissolved, with the government targeting end-2026 for the enabling legislation.
External source · HM Treasury / GOV.UK
AnalysisApr 2, 2026Text mentions “BACS”
UK Payments Forward Plan Charts Coordinated Regulatory Overhaul Through 2028
Three parallel UK regulatory developments converge to reshape British payment governance: the Payments Forward Plan maps a three-year roadmap through 2028, the PSR-FCA structural merger advances toward legislation, and new consumer protection rules take effect on 28 April 2026, creating the broadest concurrent compliance challenge since the PSR's creation.
External source · GOV.UK
RegulationMar 28, 2026Text mentions “BACS”
PSR Targets Card Fee Transparency and APP Fraud Evaluation in Final Independent Work Plan
The UK Payment Systems Regulator's annual programme for its last year of independent operation before merging into the FCA commits to implementing domestic scheme fee transparency remedies, advancing cross-border interchange reform, and publishing an independent evaluation of mandatory APP fraud reimbursement.
External source · Payment Systems Regulator
RegulationMar 26, 2026Text mentions “Bacs”
UK Regulators Publish Unified Operational Incident Reporting Framework for Financial Services and Payment Infrastructure
The consultation that preceded these policy statements ran from December 2024 to March 2025 and received 13 responses. All submissions will be made through the FCA Connect platform. An FCA webinar on implementation is scheduled for April 29, 2026.
External source · Bank of England
GuideMar 11, 2026Text mentions “BACS”
RTGS, ACH, and Fast Payment Systems: A Practitioner's Guide to Payment Rails
RTGS systems settle payments individually (gross) and immediately (real-time) in central bank money.
External source · BIS CPMI
GuideMar 11, 2026Text mentions “Bacs”
DNS, RTGS, and Hybrid Settlement: How Payment Systems Actually Clear and Settle
Understanding these models is essential for anyone working in payments - whether you are integrating with a new market's infrastructure, evaluating settlement risk, or simply trying to understand why a payment "cleared" but hasn't "settled.".
External source · BIS CPMI
NewsMar 6, 2026Text mentions “BACS”
FCA Contactless Payment Limit Rules Take Effect in March 2026
Most providers are expected to maintain current limits initially, as the regulatory change enables but does not require higher caps.
External source · Financial Conduct Authority
Not listed here: 15 tagged articles that do not mention BACS. All coverage is in Insights.