A Pay.UK spokesperson has confirmed that the Faster Payment System transaction limit has today increased from £250,000 to £1 million.
The spokesperson furthered: “Therefore, some customers of some banks and building societies might be able to make higher-value Faster Payments - individual payment service providers (PSPs) make their own competitive decision on the amount their customers can send within the £1m limit.”
This increase in transaction limit reflects demand from corporate customers and helps to provide greater choice in the market for those organisations wishing to make higher-value payments.
Faster Payments are electronic payments that can be made online, over the phone, in a branch or via self-service machines offered by many banks. Provided the receiving bank (or building society) also uses Faster Payments, the payment arrives almost immediately (can sometimes take up to two hours). Compared to the frequently used CHAPS payments, which must be set up in branch or by phone before 3:30pm (or online before 5pm) in order to receive them the same day, Faster Payments hold a clear appeal for business payments.
The Pay.UK spokesperson recommends that customers should contact their own PSP directly to find out what their individual limit is.
One of the few providers offering Faster Payments’ increased transaction limit is banking services provider, LHV UK.
Head of LHV UK, Andres Kitter, states: "This limit increase is another important milestone for the payment industry and further solidifies the leading role of Faster Payments. The quadrupling of the Faster Payments limit will play a significant role for our corporate users. With the recent change, there will be wider adoption of the Faster Payment scheme over the other schemes in the UK, especially CHAPS.”
Also commenting on the news, CEO of Northey Point Limited and author of Payments:Unpacked, Mike Chambers, states that this “welcome increase” is the “quietest launch of the biggest payment news so far this year.”
Chambers adds: “This increase in the scheme payment limit means that almost every payment a consumer makes during their lifetime can be made via Faster Payments - even house purchases which hitherto have been subject to expensive CHAPS payments.”
Pay.UK plans to make a formal statement about the transaction limit increase once it has confirmed that the participants offering the higher limit are successfully using it smoothly and efficiently.