Bit of info regarding the Faster Payment Service

Faster Payment Service is a new UK clearing system which is due to launch on 27 May 2008.

In normal circumstances payments are guaranteed to reach the beneficiary's account and be available for drawing within 2 hours. The system will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to make payments.

This function allows you to pay bills and other organisations as well as to make payments to accounts you hold with other UK banks and to your friends and family. To pay a bill or donate to a charity, click on 'Pay a bill or organisation'. This option will provide you with a list of popular payment beneficiaries so it's easier for you to make payments.

Who will be able to use FPS?

There are 13 founder members of FPS and the service is available between customers of the following financial institutions:

* HSBC
* Lloyds TSB
* HBOS plc
* Nationwide
* Citi
* Abbey
* Co-operative Bank
* Barclays
* RBS Group
* National Australia Group
* Danske Bank
* Alliance Leicester
* Northern Rock

Different banks will be offering different services and may introduce the service at different times. For further information on the service each bank is offering you will need to contact them direct. We also recommend that you contact your payee to ensure that they can accept Faster Payments.
Do I have a choice as to whether I use FPS?

Provided the beneficiary and the beneficiary's financial institution are both participating in the scheme then the payment will be sent via FPS.
Why is there a short delay when I confirm my payment?

You will receive confirmation of when the payment will be credited. To do this FPS contacts the financial institution that the payment is being sent to, in order to confirm the payment will be accepted and credited to the beneficiary's account. This may take several seconds to complete.
Please wait until the final confirmation screen has been received before logging off.
Who can I make payments to?

You can make payments to most UK based individuals and organisations. In the initial stages some organisations and banks will not accept FPS payments. In these cases funds will be sent using the existing system and will take at least 3 working days.

You will be advised when making the payment how long it will take to be credited.
When will payments be received?

FPS will not be fully operational immediately. However, when the service is fully operational then 95% of all payments will be sent via the system. In normal circumstances most of these payments will be received by the beneficiary within two hours. A notification of whether the payment has been accepted or rejected will appear on your computer.

If the payment is to an HSBC Credit Card, it will still take three working days to be credited to the account.

Payments HSBC Credit Cards will start to be sent via FPS in November 2008.
Does this new service mean I can pay my credit card bill on the day that payment is due?

Not necessarily. You will need to check the information on the back of your bill or statement to ensure you can pay it in time. All companies accepting Faster Payments and providing bills to customers should include information about timescales on the back of their bills or statements.

Payments to HSBC branded credit cards (including First Direct & Partnership Cards (including John Lewis)) will continue to take 3 days to be credited (although backdated for interest purposes) until later this year.

Payments to M&S Money cards are not currently scheduled to be included in the Faster Payments scheme.
What if I use the wrong sort code and account number?

FPS will check the sort code and account number are valid before sending it and will send you an error message if the details are invalid. It will not check that the sort code and account number relate to the beneficiary name.

Check all details input as we are not able to cancel payments or recover funds if the payment is sent to the wrong place.
How much money can I send in one day?

This new service will be launched on 27 May 2008 and customers will be able to make Faster Payments using our Bill Payments service from that date. In the first week after launch HSBC customers will only be able to make payments up to the value of £20.00. From the 3 June 2008, we will look to increase the value, if the service is performing as expected. Therefore by the end of June we expect our customers to be able to send payments up to the value of £10,000.00.

However please note that this limit can also be reduced at anytime without prior notice.
What are the cut-off times for sending a payment?

If you select 'Immediately', the amount of the payment will be taken from your account immediately. Payments generated after 11.45pm will not be sent until the next day. Payments made 'Immediately' cannot be stopped.
What happens if I set up a forward dated payment to leave on a weekend or non-working day?

If you request for a payment to leave on a date that is a weekend or non-working day, then the funds will need to be available at 12.01am on that day and your balance will reflect this. You will need to ensure that funds are available to cover any future dated payments.
What if I want to cancel a payment I have set up?

Payments made 'Immediately' cannot be stopped.

Forward dated payments can only be stopped if they appear on the 'View or cancel pending payments' list. These payments can be cancelled at any time up to and including the early hours of the date selected for payment via 'View or cancel pending payments' within 'Make a payment'. Once the payment has been sent it cannot be cancelled.