What is Faster Payments?

Faster Payments is a payment solution that 3S Money uses for businesses that transact in GBP within the UK.

With 3S Money, receiving payments within the UK is free of charge, while sending them costs just 60p (Faster Payments enables you to send and receive payments of up to £1,000,000 with all UK banks).

Faster Payments is FCA regulated (part of pay.uk), has been operating for several years and is fast, secure, and stable.

This makes it ideal for UK-only transactions as it can process payments extremely quickly. Discover more about Faster Payments below.

If your business needs to send payments within the UK in GBP, our International Business Account can help - check if you're eligible here.

Is Faster Payments the same as SWIFT?

In principle, Faster Payments facilitates the same process as SWIFT but is strictly for transactions within the UK that use GBP.

SWIFT is used by businesses operating globally to transact anywhere in the world. It supports a huge range of currencies, so payments made in GBP can be converted to USD or JPY, and vice versa.

Because SWIFT is handling global money transfers across borders, and often has to involve intermediary banks between the payer and the recipient, SWIFT transactions can take longer to process.

You can find out more about SWIFT payments here.

Is Faster Payments the same as SEPA?

Like with SWIFT, SEPA has similarities in purpose to Faster Payments but the specifics are different.

SEPA is for payments only in EUR and only between countries signed up the agreement, which includes:

All of the European Union
The UK
The European Free Trade Association members
Microstates like Monaco and The Vatican that have special arrangements with the EU

SEPA was set-up to make cross-border payments within the EU similar to domestic money transfers within the border of one country.

If your business is only transacting in EUR within countries signed up to SEPA we use it to facilitate payments quickly, efficiently, and securely.

We have more information on SEPA here.

What are the benefits of Faster Payments?

The main benefit of using Faster Payments can be found in the name: it's fast!

In terms of transaction monitoring and compliance clearance, Faster Payments makes payments made in GBP within the UK as fast as they can possibly be.

Transactions facilitated by Faster Payments are available 24/7 (check with your bank to guarantee payments on weekends). Payments are normally processed immediately, although they can sometimes take up to two hours.

Faster Payments is FCA regulated, so you can be sure that transactions are safe and secure.

If you need to transact within the UK, then have a look at our UK current account. This local, virtual GB IBAN allows you to carry out high value business payments within the UK with ease.

Are you a business looking to send payments in GBP throughout the UK? Contact our friendly Sales team on [email protected] or +44 2038 079645.

Alternatively, you can begin your online application with us here.

First published: 14/06/2022.