UK Payments in numbers

Issue 194 | 31 October 2021

In this premium edition of Payments:Unpacked we focus on the volume and value of payments processed in the UK.

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Source: Pay.UK

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Bacs Direct Debit and Direct Credit

In the 12 months to the end of September 2021 we see that:

• Bacs Direct Credit volumes have decreased by 1% (12 months to August decreased by 2%)

• Bacs Direct Debit volumes have increased by 2% (12 months to August increased by 2%)

• Total Bacs volumes have increased by 1% (12 months to August increased by 1%)

• Bacs Direct Credit values have increased by 5% (12 months to August increased by 4%)

• Bacs Direct Debit values have increased  by 2% (12 months to August increased by 1%)

• Total Bacs values have increased by 4% (12 months to August increased by 3%)

Volumes for Bacs Direct Credits in September were again just below September 2020 although with a further recovery seen reducing the year on year fall in volumes from 2% for the year to August 2021, when compared to the 12 months ending August 2020, to 1% for the year to September 2021, again when compared to the 12 months ending September 2020.

The growth in Direct Debit volumes year on year has been maintained, with an increase of 2% recorded again for the year to September 2021. As Direct Debits account for 70% of Bacs payment volumes, this increase has again contributed to the overall growth recorded in Bacs volumes of 1% for this period.

The growth in the value of both Bacs Direct Credits and Direct Debits continues contributing to a 4% growth overall for the year ending September 2021, when compared with the previous 12 months ending September 2020. Assuming the current level of restrictions remain in place, we would expect to see continued recovery throughout the remainder of this year.

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CHAPS

In the 12 months to the end of September 2021 we see that:

• CHAPS volumes have increased by 5% (12 months to August increased by 4%) 

This was made up of a 5% increase in retail / commercial based payments and a 2% increase in financial institution payments, compared to 4% increase and 3% increase respectively for the 12 months to August.

• CHAPS values have decreased by 4% (12 months to August decreased by 2%)

This month the change was made up of an 1% increase in retail / commercial based payments and a 6% decrease in financial institution based payments, compared to 3% increase and 4% decrease respectively for the 12 months to August.

Retail / Commercial payment activity had fallen throughout 2020 – however for the month of December volumes just crept ahead of December 2019. Volumes fell back again in January but have recovered since as overall activity has increased as restrictions have eased in 2021. The comparison in September reflects similar conditions across the two years but again shows the increasing activity this year with volumes 12% greater in September 2021 compared to September 2020.

The resilience in Wholesale payment volumes has continued although values have decreased compared to 2020 for each month in the last quarter and this has led to an overall fall in Wholesale values year on year. This has continued in September with the value of Wholesale payments showing a reduction of 8% for September 2021 compared to September 2020.

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Faster Payments

In the 12 months to the end of September 2021 we see that:

• Single Immediate Payment volumes have increased by 24% (12 months to August 26%)

• Total Faster Payment volumes have increased by 21% (12 months to August 22%)

• Single Immediate Payment values have increased by 27% (12 months to August 27%)

• Total Faster Payment values have increased by 24% (12 months to August 25%)

Thus, the trend has continued in September with both volumes and values significantly ahead of 2020 levels. September 2021 saw an increase of 9% in the volume of Single Immediate Payments processed in the month compared to 2020 and 17% in the value of Single Immediate Payments.

The increased use of faster payments seems to be a digital payment habit that will be here to stay, reinforced throughout each lockdown over the last 12 months but also continuing as restrictions have eased. The resilience of this particular payment habit coupled with likely increased activity in 2021 suggests that further year on year growth would be expected over the remainder of the year – albeit the trajectory of growth now appears to be flattening.

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Cheques

In the 12 months to the end of September 2021 we see that:

• Cheque volumes have decreased by 23% (12 months to August 24%).

• Cheque values have decreased by 23% (12 months to August 26%).