Bacs Submissions & Bank Holidays

There are more bank holidays approaching in May! These bank holidays will affect your Bacs Submissions – i.e. when you send your files to Bacs and when you can expect payments to be made. In order to avoid collecting Direct Debits early – and to prevent late collections – it’s important to plan ahead.

Collecting Direct Debits Early

Direct Debits should never be collected early. Rule: “Direct Debits cannot be collected before the date specifically detailed on the advance notice. This applies whether or not the specified date is a working day”  (The Service Users Guide and Rules to the Direct Debit Scheme). The potential impact of early collections can be significant and can include…..

Collecting Direct Debits Later than Intended

The Scheme Rules allow for Direct Debit collections up to 3 working days after the date advised in the Advance Notice. This is for the Service users benefit. It is to offset any issues such as unforeseen software or personnel problems. If Direct Debit collections are delayed and occur later than advised however, this can lead to issues, for example…

Planning your Bacs Submissions and allowing for bank holidays will prevent possible issues arising.

Top tips for ensuring Direct Debits collect on time

1. Diarise your Bacs submissions carefully (You can download the Bacs Processing Calendar to help)
2. Check the timeline for your Bacs Submissions – especially when there are Bank Holidays. (See the timelines below for the upcoming bank holidays in May).
3. Ensure software includes a date within the file you submit to Bacs. Files can be sent to Bacs up to 30 days in advance of the processing date. This way, if files are submitted early the collection can be future-dated.
4. Configure software to correctly read the date – e.g. as a processing or collection date.
5. Check there is sufficient contingency in place over holiday periods. This will mean that there are always team members on hand to generate and process or check Bacs submissions.
6. Make certain that staff are trained and aware of Bacs Processing timelines. (Read our blog for more details on the Bacs cycle as this will affect when files are processed and collections taken)
7. Consider a 2 person approval process or a submission check via Payment Services Website. This will both prevent errors and ensure early identification of errors if they do occur. (It’s always easier to deal with errors on Submission day as you have more options available)
8. Keep your data as clean and up-to-date as possible by actioning your Bacs reports.

Upcoming Bank Holidays and Bacs Submissions

During May, there are 2 bank holiday Mondays – on 6th and 27th May. The latest submission dates will therefore be as follows:

Early May Bank Holiday

Late May Bank Holiday

Got Questions about Bacs Submissions and Bank Holidays?

If you have any questions, please contact us – we are here to help!