Faster Payments (FP) is the first new payment system to be introduced in the UK for 20 years and enables the near real time transfer of funds. It was introduced mainly for consumer banking in May 2008 and recently celebrated a successful first year in operation.

Direct Corporate Access (DCA) facilitates the same speedy and cost effective funds transfers, but this time for the business world allowing it to send a Bacs type file of hundreds of transactions on the same day at a fraction of the cost of the current CHAPS service. Missing Bacs deadlines will soon become a thing of the past as emergency payments to staff or suppliers will be able to be made almost instantaneously. Barclays will be the first bank to initiate a full roll-out of the service in the next couple of weeks and other banks may follow suit in the coming months.

Adrian Stafford-Jones, Managing Director of Albany Software, comments, "DCA will enable greater flexibility in payment options. Customers can be refunded immediately and 'just-in-time' supplier payments encourage discounts, ensuring that businesses avoid late payment interest charges and strategic relationships remain solid. For the payer, cash flow can be improved by the retention of cash in the business until the last moment possible."

He continues, "In a payroll environment, DCA enables businesses to better cater for temporary staff time sheets and assists them when facing various payroll challenges, such as overtime, expenses, new starters, late leavers and salary adjustments. Indirect users can also submit payments via a registered Barclays sponsored bureau if they are a Barclays customer. In addition, DCA is a less resource intensive service than CHAPS as it eliminates the manual form filling."

Becoming the first company to submit a payment via DCA is Albany's second "first", as its groundbreaking new payment software, Albany ePAY, was recognised as being the first in the industry to go through testing for FP, making Albany the first FP approved supplier, proving that the company exists with its finger constantly on the pulse.

Albany ePAY has been developed as the company's flagship product and will eventually take over from its highly successful ALBACS portfolio. The solution has already received an extremely positive response from both prospective and existing customers alike since its release to the market and will enable a multitude of funds transfer options.

Stafford-Jones concludes, "Historically, Albany Software has always led the way in terms of new payment technology and is proud to be the first company to introduce DCA for FP. I strongly believe the DCA initiative, coupled with our own software solution, Albany ePAY, can arm businesses with a powerful set of tools to help improve efficiency levels and reduce costs."