The introduction of multi-channel banking has seen a huge increase in phone and Internet banking in the last couple of years with a corresponding rise in volumes of one-off automated payments.

There are now 17 million customers who bank online, half of whom use Internet banking to make payments. Some 16 million adults use a telephone banking service, 40% of whom initiate payments over the phone.

Internet and phone transactions are processed as one-off Credits using the same Bacs system and timescales that were developed to process bulk payments (Direct Debits and Direct Credits) where the length of the process is not an issue.

However, the roll-out of a new faster payments system will begin on May 27th 2008, enabling partipating banks to speed up telephone and online payments for their customers. Once rolled out, the new system will allow these payments to be processed on the same day.