UK Banking
Pay.UK (UK Payment Infrastructure)
Pay.UK is the operator and standards body for the UK's retail interbank payment systems. It was formed in 2018 by merging the operators of BACS, Faster Payments, and the cheque imaging system under a single organization, creating a unified governance structure for everyday payments.
Pay.UK sets the rules, standards, and operating procedures that banks and payment service providers must follow when participating in its payment schemes. It manages the sort code directory (EISCD) that maps sort codes to bank branches and clearing capabilities. Pay.UK is also developing the New Payments Architecture (NPA), which will modernize the UK's payment infrastructure with a single, ISO 20022-based clearing and settlement platform.
Pay.UK ensures interoperability between UK banks and building societies, so that a payment sent from any institution reliably reaches any other. Its stewardship of the sort code system and payment scheme rules directly affects how every UK bank transfer, Direct Debit, and standing order is processed. For businesses and developers, Pay.UK's standards define the data formats and validation rules that underpin UK payments.
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