Bacs Payment Schemes Ltd (Bacs), formally known as "Bankers Automated Clearing Service" was founded in 1968, and created to improve the existing payment clearing system by avoiding the need for paper documents. Bacs is responsible for the schemes behind the clearing and settlement of UK automated payment methods. Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit. They are also behind the provision of managed services for third parties, such as the Cash ISA Transfer Service, and the Current Account Switch Service.
The Bacs Direct Credit Scheme enables organisations to make payments directly into a bank or building society account. There are more than 150k organisations in the UK using Bacs Direct Credit. It has been widely adopted to pay benefits, wages and salaries, as well as supplier payments.
A Direct Debit is an instruction from a customer to their bank or building society authorising an organisation to collect varying amounts from their account, normally for regular payments. 9 out of 10 British adults have at least one Direct Debit commitment and 73% of household bills are paid this way.
The Bacs schemes are some of the cheapest ways to make and collect payments, but the price does vary depending on what options you take.
In general, there would be a registration fee that would be charged by your bank, the cost of the service to send or collect the payments, and a small transactional fee for each file (or batch) processed.
Direct (through Bacs-approved software). Using an installed or cloud solution, payment files are sent to Bacs directly and there is no middleman (such as internet banking or a bureau) involved. Users upload, validate and authorise files to send to Bacs. You benefit from being able to send Bacs payments right up until the cut off time each day. The progress of the submissions throughout the Bacs process can be tracked through your solution.
Indirect (through a bureau service or Bacs payment services website).
An indirect submitter does not send payment information directly to Bacs and instead relies on a middleman to send it on. Bottomline can act as a bureau on your behalf if you prefer, or can act as one as a contingency plan.
We have payment solutions fit for all types of organisations, whatever the size. Based on your business priorities and how you transact, we can find a solution for your specific needs. They can be locally installed or we have browser-based cloud solutions that can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. We can also help you through the entire process of getting set-up.
Next, you will need to speak to your bank. Contact your relationship manager at your sponsoring bank and request your Direct Bacstel-IP originator forms. These need to be completed and returned in order to receive your Service User Number (SUN) which is a unique identifier for your organisation. This is also how you get hold of your Smart Cards and PINS, required for direct submitters. Complete the forms with the necessary details and appropriate signatures and return the forms to your relationship manager.
Smart Cards and PINS
These are required if you want to be set-up as a direct submitter to Bacs. A Smart Card is a credit card sized plastic card containing a microchip. It identifies a user to Bacs and authorises them to do any signing, submitting or retrieving of reports. Smart Cards are provided by your sponsoring bank, and require a Smart Card reader, which will be provided by Bottomline.
Smart Cards and readers are the most common way to verify the submission of payments sent to Bacs. There is another option, which is a Hardware Security Module (HSM) or Cloud Security Module (CSM). This is a piece of installed hardware or software which secures the communication with Bacs without the need for a Smart Card. The Security Modules also offer automation and straight-through processing capabilities.
We can help you choose the right method for you and your organisation.
We will contact you to book your installation date. The installation could take as little as half a day, depending on your requirements. On the day, you will need to have two PSCs (Primary Security Contacts) chosen by yourselves, a member of your IT department, and anyone else who requires training on the product present on the installation day.
Next you will need to check your method of connection to Bacs. This will most commonly be achieved with an internet connection. You can do this by ensuring any devices you will be using has access to this site, click here.
If you have opted to be an indirect submitter, you will skip this step. Direct submitters will need to register the digital certificate details of their Smart Card to be able to access the Bacs service. Before it is possible to do this, our engineer will need to install the Smart Card Reader and the signing software on to your allocated devices, and they must have access to the Internet.
This is a set of tests dictated by the bank to ensure that you’re able to send a file, the Bank is able to see it, and you’re able to download the reports you need. Your installation engineer will be able to help complete your SQP on the date of your installation.
New Bacs users will be required to carry out a “Full Live Submission Test” before being able to submit live transmissions to Bacs. In order for us to carry out the test, we will need a file of data that represents a typical live submission, i.e. with real sort codes, account numbers, and representative of the size of submissions that you will be making.
Our engineer will train members of your staff to make submissions and, providing that a file is available, will help you to carry out these tests to affirm the training. Your sponsoring bank is responsible for setting your status to ‘Live’ for the Bacstel-IP service. Depending upon who you bank with, there may be one of two actions required to trigger this. Either, our engineer will telephone the Customer Services Group of your sponsoring bank to advise them that you are ready, or you may need to send them a fax to verify your identity. Either way, you will receive a notification from your bank to say when you are ‘Live’ to use the payment software and are connected to the Bacstel- IP service for sending your submissions and retrieving your reports. And that’s it! You’re ready to go.
Your Service User Number
Email from Bacs regarding the registration of your Smart Card (direct submitter)
Smart Cards (direct submitter)
Smart Card PIN Number (direct submitter)
Smart Card Readers (direct submitter)
Signing software
Sample of live data in a file for testing
