Payments and Collections

In 2018, UK banks introduced an image-based cheque clearing system, which aimed to make cheques a secure and convenient future payment method.

The new system meant that:

• Cheques can clear faster with funds being made available within two business days of the cheque being received (Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays).
• If you issue a cheque, funds will leave your account faster.

Send immediate electronic payments to customers, even if you don’t have their bank account details using Barclays' unique Send a Payment mobile service.

How it works

• Payment can be made on the basis of a customer’s mobile phone number. 
• We look up the phone number in an industry-wide database, containing details of millions of customers who have linked their phone number to their bank account (Paym^)
• We can then make the payment straight into the customer’s bank account.
  

Benefits for your business

You can embed Send a Payment into your own website or payment systems – offering the following benefits:

• Reduces your use of cheques, which can be an expensive and time consuming.
• Speeds up payment – recipients typically receive the payment in less than two hours.
• By not collecting account numbers and sort codes, it reduces the customer personal data you need to hold – and therefore your data protection requirements.

Benefits for your customers

Send a Payment can improve your customers’ experience by making payments:

• Quicker - faster than card or cheque, with payment going straight into the customer’s bank account.
• Safer - no sharing of card or account details.
• Easier - no need to deposit a cheque or complete lengthy online payment forms.

Read the video transcript

Choose from a wide range of methods that can make initiating or receiving payments more efficient.

Is it right for you?

• You can make or take domestic or international payments through the service that most closely meets your business needs.
• You can choose from automated payments to paper-based payments, giving you flexibility.

How it works

• Through a range of UK and international payment services, you can send any amount to virtually anywhere in the world, electronically or by paper.
• Gives you peace of mind, with electronic and automated services providing a high level of security.
• Enables you to benefit from associated advantages, such as enhanced control or process efficiencies.
• Gives you access to our Cash Management specialists, who can work with you to tailor certain services to your needs.

Support all of your cash handling needs with our broad range of cash processing services. You can choose to deposit your cash at your local Barclays branch, or have it delivered to a central Barclays location using a Cash-in-Transit carrier company.

Is it right for you?

• You frequently receive large amounts of cash - but cannot hold it securely on your premises.
• You want to realise the value of your cash takings as soon as you can.
• You're looking for a secure method to deposit your cash.

How it supports your business

• Provides secure and convenient methods of depositing your cash and cheques.
• Gives you a range of delivery methods, including direct to cash centres, branch counters, in-branch self-service, and night safe devices.
• Provides enhanced security for depositing through bar-coded, self-seal, tamper-evident wallets.
• Can often be integrated with your existing security provider and processes.

Important information

If you use a night safe device, the contents will be processed on the following business day.

The products referred to in this section are subject to separate terms and conditions.

Use our extensive range of paper-based and electronic collections services to manage payments from customers.

Is it right for you?

• Your customers are looking for quicker and more convenient ways to pay you.
• You want to improve reconciliation and reduce administration.
• You want to give your customers flexibility in how they pay you.
• You want greater control over the ways in which you receive funds.
• You want to centralise your European Direct Debit collections.

How it supports your business

• Helps you control and predict cashflow by providing more payment collection certainty.
• Enables you to automate payment collection – including electronic regular payments using the Direct Debit service.
• Provides your customers with an easy, trusted Direct Debit payment method, protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
• Sterling and currency cheques can be deposited straight into your accounts.
• On transferring your business to Barclays, you can keep your Bacs third-party software.

Payment Acceptance

We provide a choice of end-to-end payment acceptance solutions that enable our clients to accept card payments face-to-face, online, by mail order or over the telephone.

Important information

The products referred to in this section are subject to separate terms and conditions. There are terms and conditions associated with becoming a Direct Debit Originator – please speak to your Relationship Team for more details.

Enables you to offer customers an easy way to pay their bills. By including personalized QR codes on bills, renewal letters or emails, customers can simply scan the QR code and pay using the Pingit app. It’s easy for the customer and each payment carries the reference information required for reconciliation upon receipt.

Benefits for your business:

• Reduce reconciliation costs and efforts – unique customer reference data can be embedded into the QR code, which will automatically be shown on payment reports.
• Save on processing cost – can be a substitute for cheques and card payments, helping to remove cheque processing costs or reduce interchange costs.
• Receive SMS notifications – embedding a mobile number into the QR code allows you to receive an SMS notification when a payment is made, which could help with your stock management.
• Increase customer satisfaction by offering a payment method which allows customers to pay easily with their mobile phone, anytime, anywhere.

Benefits for your customers:

• Quick and secure payments – customers no longer have to type account numbers and sort codes, giving them peace of mind that they’re sending the payment to the right company.
• Saves time – customers no longer have to wait in queues, or on the phone, to make payments. The payment amount and customer reference(s) are automatically populated on Pingit.
• No need to remember passwords – customers no longer have to remember individual account details and passwords to make online payments.
• Be in control of regular payments – as an alternative to Direct Debits, customers can have greater control over their bills and invoices, allowing better financial management. 

Use our electronic forms below to make:

• Same-day payments using CHAPS
• Barclays International payments
• SEPA Credit Transfers (SCTs).

How to use the forms

Complete the appropriate form on screen, then print off and sign it. Please send your completed form to us using the directions provided.

Excel-format payment forms

• Making a Barclays International Payment (XLSX 92KB)
• Making a Same Day Domestic Payment (XLS 547KB)

PDF^† guides to completing the payment templates

• Barclays International Payment Editable Template Guide (PDF 74KB)†
• Same Day Domestic Payment Editable Template User Guide (PDF 168KB)†

Editable PDF-format^† payment forms

If you are unable to access the Excel-format payment forms, please use these editable PDF¹ versions.

• Making a Barclays International Payment (PDF 193KB)†
• Making a Same Day Domestic Payment (PDF 210KB)†

International Bank Account Numbers

Generate and validate IBANs with us online

Important information

Please note that all procedures relating to the completion and submission of the CHAPS and international payments remain unchanged.

As per Payment Services Regulations 2017, from 13 January 2018 any intra EU/EEA payments must be submitted with the SHA charging code. If you submit an intra EU/EEA payment with the OUR charge code we will convert this into SHA charge code.

We support payment service providers (PSPs) seeking to provide their own customers with services to transfer funds within the UK. We do so by providing PSPs with indirect access to the UK payment schemes. Barclays has subscribed to the voluntary Code of Conduct for Indirect Access Providers since 30 September 2015, including the current version which was published in November 2018¹.

You can choose from two types of indirect access:

Agency bank access

You are given your own sort code and can provide your customers with their own unique account number on that sort code.

This provides access to all UK clearing systems (see table below), allows you to appear as a UK clearing bank in your own right, and provides all the advantages of direct access without the high costs and operational requirements.

Eligibility: For agency bank access, you must be a payment services provider as laid down in the Payment Services Regulations 2017. Further eligibility criteria will include assessments for anti-money laundering, credit risk, procedural capability for scheme compliance and technical capability. Further details are available in this document (PDF 51KB)†.

Non-agency access

You are given a settlement account in our books and typically identify your underlying beneficiary customer for payments by the reference in the payment instruction. This allows you to make and receive a variety of payments including Faster Payments, Bacs and CHAPS via Barclays.

Eligibility: Eligibility criteria for non-agency access will depend upon the precise services you require but will include assessments for anti-money laundering and credit risk. Further details are available in this document (PDF 51KB)†.

Which UK payment systems can you access?

¹ The Voluntary Code of Conduct for Indirect Access Providers (PDF 335KB)†

² Access to payments via a sort code in the name of the Agency Bank

³ Access to payments via a Barclays account

What we can offer

We tailor our services and pricing to your individual requirements. The types of service we offer are shown on the following PDF:

Open the 'types of service' (PDF 711KB)†