Online banks to start two-hour money transfers

 

Gallery

By Barry Collins

Posted on 23 May 2008 at 16:06

A new banking computer system will launch next week that will allow people to transfer funds from their accounts within two hours, rather than the two days it takes currently.

Click here to read the NEW PC Pro blog

Online bankers will now be able to pay bills or move money between different banks on the same day for the first time.

However, the £300m Faster Payments Service will only cover 5% of payments when it's turned on next Tuesday. Customers can enter their sort code at www.canipayfaster.co.uk to check if they'll benefit from the streamlined service.

The system was due to go live at the end of last year, but was hit by testing delays. "The final part of this enormously complex project has been to test the new system in a live environment," says Paul Smee, chief executive of the Association for Payment Clearance Services (APACS).

"This week hundreds of penny payments have successfully been made between the participating banks. The Service is now ready to start being rolled out to customers next Tuesday. Although the initial rollout will be gradual, and some customers may not be using the new service immediately, we expect that in the coming months this will ramp up to enable large numbers of customers to benefit from it."

Seven banks will offer the Faster Payments Service at launch - including Barclays and HSBC - with others to follow in coming months.

Click here to read our comprehensive test of 12 UK online banks