Bulk Faster Payments
Faster payments at scale
Our Bulk Faster Payments service handles high volume payments quickly and securely. It streamlines payroll, supplier payments and other large scale transactions by integrating seamlessly with the UK Faster Payments system.
What are Bulk Faster Payments?
Bulk Faster Payments allow you to make multiple payments quickly and securely in one upload, saving you time and making processing easier. This service is available through Online Banking and can help save you time with processing high volumes of regular payments, such as expenses or wages.
How can Bulk Faster Payments help my business?
- Reduce admin time: Make up to 100 payments in one go – no need to process payments individually.
- Send payments quickly: Bulk Faster Payments are received on the same working day if submitted before 3pm.
- Plan ahead: Schedule your payments up to 12 months in advance of the payment date.
- Security: Payment requests can be set up to require single, double, or triple authority approval, depending on your business needs.
Ready to set up
Bulk Faster Payments?
Go to Payments hub > Register for Bulk Faster Payments
How do Bulk Faster Payments work?
A Faster Payment is an instant, one-off transfer from one bank account to another. Bulk Faster Payments allow businesses to upload a single file containing up to 100 payments via Online Banking. These payments will then be processed in near real-time, debiting the relevant account and sending payments to recipients instantly. Each transaction will be listed on bank statements in the same way as a single Faster Payment.
Bulk Faster Payments are processed at 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm each working day. This means that:
- Payments authorised before 3pm Monday to Friday will be processed and available on the same day.
- Payments authorised after 3pm Monday to Friday will be debited and sent on the next working day. These payments will be shown in ‘Scheduled Payments’ until they are sent.
All payments are made subject to funds being available. All payments go through our internal fraud and Anti-Money Laundering checking processes which may delay the debit being applied in certain circumstances.
What’s the difference between Bacs, Bulk Faster Payments and CHAPS?
Depending on your business needs, one of our other payment services, such as Bacs or CHAPS, may be more suitable for you. For a side -by-side comparison of Bacs, Bulk Faster Payments and CHAPS, including speed, costs and typical use cases, see our Payment Services comparison table.
How to upload a Bulk Faster Payments file
Once you’ve registered for Bulk Faster Payments in Online Banking, it’s a simple four step process to upload your file:
Prepare
Firstly, create a .csv file containing details of the payments you want to make, including: Recipient Sort Code, Recipient Account Number, Recipient Account Name, Payment Amount, Payment Reference.
Upload
Once your file is ready, login to your Online Banking account and select ‘New Bulk Payment’ tab, then ‘Select your payment file’ from the left-hand menu. Click ‘Select your payment file’ and select your saved payment file or drag and drop the file. Select ‘Upload’.
Review
Review the details on the next screen and select ‘Approve and submit’ to confirm payment.
Authorise
If your organisation has dual or triple authority set up in Online Banking, your file will need to be authorised by one or two additional users before it is processed.
How much do Bulk Faster Payments Cost?
There is a transaction fee of 25p* per transaction for Bulk Faster Payments.
For more details of our fees and charges, please see our Standard Service Tariff.
*These fees are negotiable as part of the T3 Account tariff.
Ready to make a Bulk Faster Payment?
To register for Bulk Faster Payments, login to Online Banking and select ‘Register for Bulk Faster Payments’ from the Payments hub to get started.
If you’re already registered for Bulk Faster Payments with us, login to Online Banking and select ‘Bulk Faster Payments’ from the Payments hub.
Please note, you must be an Online Banking administrator for your organisation in order to register and manage bulk faster payments. An Online Banking administrator is a user who is authorised to set transaction limits for your organisation. You can make changes to your account, such as adding a new administrator and changing existing access levels, through our Account Management form.
Help & support with Bulk Faster Payments
For more information about using our Bulk Faster Payments service, watch our handy tutorial or read our Frequently Asked Questions below.
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Your charging account is the account that charges from Bulk Faster Payments are passed on to. This is separate to the ‘From Account’, which is the account the payments are sent from.
You will be charged up to 25p for each transaction in your payment file. Full details can be found in our Standard Service Tariff.
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The maximum number of payments per upload file is 100.
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No. You can send multiple bulk faster payment files in one day. Our cut-off times for processing the files are 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm each working day. Payments authorised before these times will be processed on the same day, subject to internal checking processes.
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No, payees do not have to be existing beneficiaries for them to be included in a Bulk Faster Payments upload file.
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We process and send Bulk Faster Payment files four times each working day. Our cut-off times for processing the files are 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Payments authorised before these times will be processed on the same day, subject to internal checking processes.
Once your account has been debited, the beneficiary will usually receive your payment that same day. If not, the funds will be available to them the next working day, excluding weekends and bank holidays in England and Wales. You will need to allow extra time for funds to be received in these cases.
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Yes, payments can be scheduled to be sent up to 12 months in advance. Users can view and cancel payments up until the scheduled payment date through the ‘View Scheduled Payments’ and ‘Expire Scheduled Payments’ pages within Online Banking.
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Payment files that have not received appropriate authorisation are automatically deleted after 30 days.
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If you decide that the Bulk Faster Payments service is no longer suitable for your business, our friendly UK-based Call Centre team are here to help. Call us on 0345 140 1000*.
*Our Call Centre opening hours are 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank and public holidays in England and Wales. Calls may be monitored and recorded for training, quality and security purposes. Calls to this number are charged at your local geographic rate, and calls from mobiles may be higher. Please contact your telephone provider for details.
Other Unity payment services
Bacs
CHAPS
International Payments
Accepting Card Payments
Corporate Purchasing Cards
Direct Debits and Standing Orders
It’s simple, secure and stress-free to switch to us
If you’re ready to switch your Business Current Account to Unity Trust Bank, we’ll make sure it happens like clockwork. It’s guaranteed to take 7 working days, it’s free, and it’s all taken care of by the Current Account Switch Service.