APACS
Encyclopedia
The UK Payments Administration Ltd (UKPA) (previously APACS, the Association for Payment Clearing Services) is a United Kingdom
trade organisation that brings together all payment system
s organisations and gives banks, building societies and card issuers a forum where they can work together on non-competitive issues. It covers most forms of payments within the UK including cash
, credit card
s, debit card
s, cheque
s, and automated payments such as direct debit
s, salary payments and online/phone transactions.
It has been responsible for the creation of rules regarding customer liability in cases of card and cheque fraud and starting in 2004 oversaw and guided the transition of debit cards to Chip and PIN
.
UKPA was created on the July 6, 2009, as a direct successor of the 'Association for Payment Clearing Services' (APACS) to act as a portal company for each of the respective sectors of UK payment services such as BACS
, CHAPS
, the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company
and other businesses.
commissioned BACS
Limited to develop and deliver a networked service known as IBDE (Inter-Bank Data Exchange) to facilitate the clearance of cheques between the member banks.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, APACS coordinated the UK adoption of Chip and PIN
smartcards.
In December 2005, the association of banks started the Faster Payments Service
initiative to improve the speed of lower value consumer and business transactions, to be used in parallel with the CHAPS and BACS systems. Faster Payments began operation in 2008.
As APACS, it managed Card Watch, a UK banking industry initiative that aimed to raise awareness of card fraud prevention, now superseded by Financial Fraud Action UK.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
trade organisation that brings together all payment system
Payment system
A payment system is a system used for transferring money. What makes it a "system" is that it employs cash-substitutes; traditional payment systems are negotiable instruments such as drafts and documentary credits such as letter of credits. With the advent of computers and electronic...
s organisations and gives banks, building societies and card issuers a forum where they can work together on non-competitive issues. It covers most forms of payments within the UK including cash
Cash
In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...
, credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s, debit card
Debit card
A debit card is a plastic card that provides the cardholder electronic access to his or her bank account/s at a financial institution...
s, cheque
Cheque
A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...
s, and automated payments such as direct debit
Direct debit
A direct debit or direct withdrawal is an instruction that a bank account holder gives to his or her bank to collect an amount directly from another account. It is similar to a direct deposit but initiated by the beneficiary...
s, salary payments and online/phone transactions.
It has been responsible for the creation of rules regarding customer liability in cases of card and cheque fraud and starting in 2004 oversaw and guided the transition of debit cards to Chip and PIN
Chip and PIN
Chip and PIN is the brandname adopted by the banking industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the rollout of the EMV smartcard payment system for credit, debit and ATM cards.- History :...
.
UKPA was created on the July 6, 2009, as a direct successor of the 'Association for Payment Clearing Services' (APACS) to act as a portal company for each of the respective sectors of UK payment services such as BACS
BACS
Bacs Payment Schemes Limited is a United Kingdom scheme for the electronic processing of financial transactions. BACS direct debits and BACS direct credits are made using the BACS system...
, CHAPS
CHAPS
The Clearing House Automated Payment System or CHAPS is a British company established in London in 1984, which offers same-day sterling fund transfers...
, the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company
Cheque and Credit Clearing Company
The Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Limited is a membership-based industry body with 12 settlement members. The company has managed the cheque clearing system in England and Wales since 1985, and in all of Great Britain since 1996 when it took over responsibility for managing the Scottish...
and other businesses.
Standards
The UKPA standards define both procedural and technical practice for:- Debits (including cheques)
- Standing order mandatesStanding order (banking)A Standing Order is an instruction a bank account holder gives to their bank to pay a set amount at regular intervals to another account. The instruction is sometimes known as a banker's order....
- Coin packaging and banknote wrappers
- Magnetic media interchange
- Interchange data formats
- EFTPOSEFTPOSEFTPOS is the general term used for debit card based systems used for processing transactions through terminals at points of sale. In Australia and New Zealand it is also the brand name of the specific system used for such payments...
device communications - Other services
UKPA members
- Bank of AmericaBank of AmericaBank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
- Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
- Bank of IrelandBank of IrelandThe Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
- Bank of ScotlandBank of ScotlandThe Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to...
- Barclays Bank
- Capital OneCapital OneCapital One Financial Corp. is a U.S.-based bank holding company specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking and savings products...
- CitigroupCitigroupCitigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
- Co-operative BankCo-operative BankThe Co-operative Bank plc is a commercial bank in the United Kingdom and Guernsey, with its headquarters in Manchester.The bank markets itself as an ethical bank, and refuses to invest in companies involved in the arms trade, global climate change, genetic engineering, animal testing and use of...
- Deutsche BankDeutsche BankDeutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
- DnB NORDnB NORDNB ASA is Norway's largest financial services group with total combined assets of more than NOK 2.0 trillion and a market capitalisation NOK 102 billion as per December the 31st. The Group includes brands such as DNB, Vital, Nordlandsbanken, Cresco, Postbanken, DnB NORD and Carlson...
Bank - EggEgg Banking plcEgg Banking plc is a British internet bank owned by Citigroup, with headquarters in Derby and London, England. Egg was born out of Prudential's initial banking arm , that had been established in 1996...
- GE CapitalGE CapitalGE Capital is the financial services unit of General Electric, one of five major units. Its various divisions include GE Capital Aviation Services, GE Capital Real Estate, GE Energy Financial Services and GE Money....
- HFC BankHSBC FinanceHSBC Finance Corporation is a financial services company and a member of the British HSBC Group. It is the sixth-largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa credit cards in the United States...
- HSBCHSBCHSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
- JPMorgan
- Lloyds TSBLloyds TSBLloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
- MBNAMBNAMBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006...
- Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
- NABNational Australia BankNational Australia Bank is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia in terms of market capitalisation and customers. NAB is ranked 17th largest bank in the world measured by market capitalisation...
- Nationwide Building SocietyNationwide Building SocietyNationwide Building Society is a British building society, and is the largest in the world. It has its headquarters in Swindon, England, and maintains significant administration centres in Bournemouth and Northampton...
- National Westminster BankNational Westminster BankNational Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is the largest retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom and has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is ranked as the second largest bank in the world by assets...
- Northern RockNorthern RockNorthern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007. Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...
- Royal Bank of ScotlandRoyal Bank of ScotlandThe Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
- Royal MailRoyal MailRoyal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
- SantanderSantander-People:*Francisco de Paula Santander , a Colombian military and political leader born in Cúcuta*Kike Santander , a Colombian composer and record producer born in Santiago de Cali...
- Standard Chartered BankStandard Chartered BankStandard Chartered PLC is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom with operations in more than seventy countries...
- WachoviaWachoviaWachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets...
Initiatives
In 1994 APACSAPACS
The UK Payments Administration Ltd is a United Kingdom trade organisation that brings together all payment systems organisations and gives banks, building societies and card issuers a forum where they can work together on non-competitive issues...
commissioned BACS
BACS
Bacs Payment Schemes Limited is a United Kingdom scheme for the electronic processing of financial transactions. BACS direct debits and BACS direct credits are made using the BACS system...
Limited to develop and deliver a networked service known as IBDE (Inter-Bank Data Exchange) to facilitate the clearance of cheques between the member banks.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, APACS coordinated the UK adoption of Chip and PIN
Chip and PIN
Chip and PIN is the brandname adopted by the banking industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the rollout of the EMV smartcard payment system for credit, debit and ATM cards.- History :...
smartcards.
In December 2005, the association of banks started the Faster Payments Service
Faster Payments Service
Faster Payments Service is a UK banking initiative to reduce payment times between different banks' customer accounts from three working days using the long-established BACS system, to near real time...
initiative to improve the speed of lower value consumer and business transactions, to be used in parallel with the CHAPS and BACS systems. Faster Payments began operation in 2008.
As APACS, it managed Card Watch, a UK banking industry initiative that aimed to raise awareness of card fraud prevention, now superseded by Financial Fraud Action UK.
External links
- UKPA official website
- Cheque and Credit Clearing Company - the organisation that manages cheque clearing in the UK
- Financial Fraud Action UK