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.
• 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, online, host-to-host or SWIFT.
  

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.
  

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, online, host-to-host or SWIFT.

How it works

• Through a range of UK and international payment services, you can send any amount to virtually anywhere in the world.
• 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.

Generate and validate IBANs with us online

Important information

Please refer to the ‘Barclays International Payments Service Charging Guide’ for information on charge options for payments.

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)†