This takes membership of Bacs, the organisation behind Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit, to 16 leading financial institutions.

Michael Chambers, managing director of Bacs, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Citi on board as our newest member, and our first from outside of Europe. As an organisation, we are constantly working to evolve and to keep pace with the rapidly changing financial landscape, ensuring we offer the most complete service we can to UK consumers, businesses and the public sector.

"Citi already plays an active role in our country's financial industry so becoming a full member of Bacs is a natural next step, and one we're happy to facilitate - we are always open to new membership from financial institutions."
Citi is already a member of the UK CHAPS and Faster Payments schemes as well as bodies such as the Payments Council.

Citi's status as a banker for the UK Government Banking Service, coupled with the continued growth of its UK client base, made direct membership of Bacs a logical move. Clients of Citi will benefit from a more direct and cohesive service, and membership will give Citi better flexibility to offer market leading solutions to its clients.

Rajesh Mehta, Citi's Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions for Citi Global Transaction Services in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, commented "Citi's decision to join Bacs, as the first non-European bank, highlights our commitment to the UK market where we have a strong public sector, corporate and financial institution franchise. It also adds to our direct membership network of almost 200 clearing systems worldwide, demonstrating our global leadership position in cash management."