We have introduced improvements to speed up the process of receiving and making Bill Payments and standing orders. Take a look at the information below to see how the changes affect you.

Receiving payments

All banks are required to have the capability to receive payments by a method called Faster Payments. As you may have noticed, this service is now available to you. With these improvements, any Bill Payment or standing order that is made to your Unity account via a Faster Payment method by 4pm Monday-Friday, will be received and credited to your account the same day. This is an improvement to the previous three-day Bacs process.

This will mean that you will be able to manage your account easier as the funds paid into your account will be available to you quicker.

Please note: As of 1 January 2012 the current three-day receiving Bacs service for Bill Payments or standing orders from other banks will no longer be available.  

For more information about receiving payments see our FAQs.

Making payments

We have also made improvements to the process and timescales of making Bill Payments and standing order and the service is now available to you. Previously, the process for making payments was three working days. With these improvements, your account will now be debited the next working day after you authorise the payment*. Once your account is debited, the beneficiary will usually receive your payment that same day. If not, the funds will be available to them the next working day.

These improvements apply to Bill Payments and standing orders only^. It does not affect Foreign Transfers, Direct Debits or Bacs payments (made through the Unity e-Payment service, your own Bacs software or your nominated Bacs service provider).

As this payment will be leaving your account quicker, we are unable to stop or recall a payment once it has been sent. It is therefore very important that you provide the correct payment details including the recipient's bank sort code, account number and reference number (if applicable) at the time of sending the payment.

There is no change to the charges you currently pay; any payment you make will continue to be charged in line with your current account tariff.

If you need to send a payment over £100,000, or for a payment to reach the beneficiary that same day it can be sent via our CHAPS payment service.  See our Standard Service Tariff leaflet for details of the charges. 

This process for making outbound payments is not the Faster Payments method. Faster Payments is where a customer will be able to authorise and make a payment on the same day, we are looking to implement this service in early 2012. 

Please note: The previous three-day Bacs service for Bill Payments or standing orders is now no longer available.  

For more information about making payments see our FAQs.

*  This excludes future dated payments.
^  The maximum amount you can send via Bill Payments and standing orders is £100,000, per beneficiary per day.

Terms and Conditions

We have amended our Terms and Conditions and these will be sent to all customers in our annual mailing.

Not registered for Unity's Internet Banking Service?

There is no better time to sign up and take advantage of the improvements to the speed in which you can receive and make payments. For more information on how to register for Internet Banking call our banking operations team on 0845 140 1000 or download an application form today.