As with internet and phone payments the rollout will be gradual, but it is expected that the majority of standing orders will be processed faster through the new service by the end of the year. Any payment not made through the new service will continue to be processed through the existing Bacs three-day service.

For the first time, instead of taking three days to clear, the Faster Payments Service will enable standing orders to reach the recipient on the same day, providing it is a bank working day and the payment is under £100,000. Standing orders are typically used to make regular charity donations or subscriptions, for regular payments for life insurance or endowment policies, and to make regular contributions to a savings account.

Customers don't need to do anything, but if they have a regular standing order payment, for instance to a landlord, which needs to arrive on a set date, they may wish to change it, so rather than the funds arriving early they remain in their own account for a couple of days longer. For regular payments to a savings account, there is no need to make any change to the arrangement; in fact the customer will benefit from earning extra interest as a result of the payment reaching a savings account more quickly. If customers are not sure when their own bank is rolling out standing orders on their account, they should check with their bank directly.

The introduction of the Faster Payments Service for standing orders comes following the successful start for the rollout of the service for telephone and internet payments. Since the introduction of the service, 885,719 payments have been made, to a total value of £522,383,231. The millionth payment is expeected to be processed by the last settlement period today, 6th June.