Citi is offering a new array of Faster Payments services to its Financial Institution, Corporate and Public Sector clients. This forms part of a new payments infrastructure that will allow for 24 hour near real-time payments for the first time ever.
The new service will benefit customers by speeding up one-off low value payments, reducing the current three-day clearing timescale to enable these payments to clear within hours, not days. For the very first time it will also be possible to make these payments at extended banking hours and on weekends. The service will also enable same day clearing for regular standing order payments made on bank working days.
“The development of the Faster Payments Service follows significant investment that demonstrates Citi’s commitment to the UK and a continued drive toward innovation in the Payments industry. At Citi we see Faster Payments as a base infrastructure that can serve as the foundation for a range of radical payment solutions,” says Rajesh Mehta, head of Treasury and Trade Services, EMEA, Citi.
“The development of this new system is a massive and complex project involving significant investment both within banks and the central infrastructure. We have been particularly impressed with how the 13 founding members have pulled together to achieve this. As with any payment system there is no room for error as it will be an integral part of the UK’s economic infrastructure,” says Paul Smee, chief executive, APACS.