Faster Payments (UK)
Faster Payments is the UK's real-time payment system, run by Pay.UK, which moves sterling payments of up to £1 million between accounts day and night, 365 days a year. Each bank and building society sets its own limits within that ceiling.
Jurisdiction: United Kingdom: operated by Pay.UK, with settlement in the Bank of England RTGS service. Volumes for calendar year 2025.
How it works
The system launched in 2008. In 2025 it processed 5.55 billion transactions worth £4.84 trillion. High street banks, building societies, challenger banks and other payment service providers connect to the central infrastructure directly or indirectly.
Customers see money arrive in seconds, but participants settle with each other on a multilateral deferred net basis. Net settlement takes place in the Bank of England's RTGS system three times each business day. Payments made over a weekend build up settlement positions that settle on the next business day.
Access has widened. An access programme launched in 2014 more than tripled the number of direct participants. Rules allowing non-banks to hold a Bank of England settlement account let the first non-bank join directly in 2018. Direct access removes reliance on a sponsor bank's limits.
Example
A UK firm pays out £150,000 on Saturday and £120,000 on Sunday over Faster Payments through its bank. Its account balance falls by £270,000 over the weekend, even though interbank settlement waits until Monday. Treasury holds the £270,000 plus a buffer by Friday's close.
Frequently asked questions
How is Faster Payments different from CHAPS?
CHAPS is the Bank of England's same-day high-value system, usually open 6am to 6pm on business days, with gross settlement. Faster Payments runs 24/7 and settles net three times each business day.
Can I send more than £1 million by Faster Payments?
Not in a single payment. Larger sterling amounts go by CHAPS.
Where Polynopsis fits
Polynopsis reads sterling balances from bank statement files and APIs, read-only, into one position with every partner and wallet balance.
Related terms
Sources
- Faster Payment System · Pay.UK
- Payment and settlement · Bank of England
- CHAPS · Bank of England
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator