Plan your payments ahead of five April and May bank holidays

Businesses should plan their payments ahead of the five bank holidays across April and May to avoid disruption to staff and suppliers. Pay.UK, which is responsible for Bacs Direct Credits and Direct Debits, is urging organisations to make sure they have the most up-to-date processing calendar to hand, so they don’t miss or delay important payments.

As bank holidays are Bacs non-processing days businesses and organisations are encouraged to factor these into their scheduling, and take advantage of the ability to submit payment files in advance.

First up will be Good Friday and Easter Monday (7 and 10 April respectively), meaning that payments due in accounts before the long weekend will need to be submitted by Tuesday 4 April. Similarly, if payments are due on the first working day following Easter Monday, then the latest submission date for payment files is Wednesday 5 April.

During the following month, there will be three bank holidays, including an extra one this year on 8 May, to mark the coronation of King Charles III. This will be in addition to the usual early May and spring bank holidays on 1 and 29 of the month. This means that the latest submission dates for payments due to be credited ahead of these non-processing days will be 26 April, and 3 and 24 May, respectively.

To help businesses plan in advance, Pay.UK has produced an updated 2023 processing calendar - reflecting the additional bank holiday for the coronation - which lists all the non-processing days for the rest of the year, together with latest payment submission dates.

Useful bank holiday payment processing tips:

• Make sure you download the latest version of the Pay.UK processing calendar and share it with colleagues, who may benefit from a quick reference guide
• Plan ahead and submit your payment files in advance
• Double check that you have submitted the files with the correct processing dates, and ensure your software reflects Bacs non-processing days
• Ask a colleague to review the submission dates – just in case
• With fewer staff available over holiday periods, make sure you have a back-up plan to cover any planned or unforeseen absences
• As many workplaces are still operating with staff based remotely, now might be a good time to review whether all those who may need to submit payment files have the equipment and access they require
• Remember that Direct Debits due on bank holidays should be collected on the next working day.

You can get more information from bacs.co.uk and wearepay.uk.