Plan your payments ahead of three bank holidays in May
Businesses are being reminded to plan their payments ahead of the three bank holidays in May, to avoid disruption to staff and suppliers.
Pay.UK, which is responsible for Bacs Direct Credits and Direct Debits, is also encouraging organisations to make sure they have the most up-to-date processing calendar to hand. This is to ensure they don’t miss, or delay important payments around what are Bacs non-processing days.
As well as the usual early May and spring bank holidays on 1 and 29 of the month respectively, this year also sees an extra bank holiday on 8 May, to mark the coronation of King Charles III. 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’s updated 2023 processing calendar lists all of the key dates for the remainder of the year. Organisations are also reminded that payment files can be submitted in advance, making forward planning that little bit easier.
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