Businesses reminded to plan ahead to avoid Christmas payment delays
Businesses across the country are being reminded to plan ahead if they have essential payments to make over the Christmas and New Year holiday periods.
Pay.UK, which runs the Bacs Direct Credit and Direct Debit payment services, is reminding businesses, large and small, to be aware of non-payment processing days over the festive period.
For example, if salaries, supplier payments, or bills are due to be paid or collected on Christmas Eve (Thursday 24 December), then the latest date you can submit your Bacs payment files is Tuesday 22 December.
If funds are due to be debited / credited on the first official working day after the Christmas bank holiday – Tuesday 29 December – then payment files must be submitted no later than Wednesday 23 December.
And, for payments due before the New Year break, the submission process must begin by Tuesday 29 December. If payments are due on the first working day after the New Year celebrations (Monday 4 January 2021), then the deadline for submitting payment files is Wednesday 30 December.
It’s also worth remembering that Bacs payment files can be submitted up to 30 days in advance, which could help take the pressure off finance teams that may still be working remotely, or with limited resource.
In addition, to help businesses stay one step ahead of non-processing days, and meet all their payment obligations, Pay.UK has produced a handy payment processing calendar which can be found at: www.bacs.co.uk/