When mobile communicators only existed on sci-fi shows, and as Apple's Steve Jobs was just entering his teens, Bacs marks its 50th anniversary this month.
Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs), the organisation behind Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit in the UK, is celebrating half a century of operation, having started life as the Inter Bank Computer Bureau.
And since those heady days when Cliff Richard was topping the charts with ‘Congratulations' and film-goers were wowed by the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes, Bacs has become a staple part of the UK's financial landscape.
In fact, a company that first opened its doors five decades ago has continued to thrive, breaking record after record, year after year, processing over 125 billion payments since launching. In 2017 alone, 6.35 billion transactions passed through the Bacs system, at a value of £4.9 trillion, including 4.2 billion Direct Debits.
Perhaps unsurprising when you consider that nine out of 10 adults in Great Britain have at least one Direct Debit commitment, while Bacs Direct Credit is used to pay over 90 per cent of the UK workforce, as well as a billion benefit payments, and pensions and dividends. Between the two payment types, a new combined daily record was set last year, too, with 111.7 million transactions processed in a single 15 hour window.
And that's not all. Bacs also
provides vital managed services to the sector and owns and manages the Current
Account Switch Service, which has facilitated over 4.5 million account switches
since 2013, and continues to be held up as an example of best practice.
Bacs' chief executive officer is Michael Chambers. He said: "We provide access
to some of the most important payment methods to an ever-more-demanding
consumer, as well as to business, charities, government - almost everyone in
the UK is touched by our products and services, which now extend far beyond our
two core payment schemes.
"In 2017, between Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit, we set an annual record of 6.35 billion transactions, with a new high of 111.7 million payments processed in a single 15 hour window. To me, that demonstrates the continued importance of a company that has its roots in the 1960s, but its focus on the future."
As Bacs reaches this important
milestone, next month will herald another historic development as the
organisation becomes part of the New Payment System Operator (NPSO), along with Faster Payments and the
Cheque & Credit Clearing Company, which incorporates the Image Clearing
System (ICS) that will replace the paper processing system for cheques. The
new body will develop the capability
and capacity of the UK's retail payment systems, as well as develop the New
Payments Architecture (NPA).
Paul Horlock, chief executive officer of the New Payment System
Operator, said: "As Bacs reaches this important milestone, it is fitting that
we also look forwards, towards what promises to be an exciting future for Bacs
and the NPSO.
"Our new organisation will play an essential part in enabling a vibrant UK economy; facilitating a globally competitive payments infrastructure. We will provide robust, resilient, and collaborative retail
payments services which benefit all of our many users, and Bacs will be integral to that."
