Source: Chaps
An incredible total of one quadrillion pounds (£1,000,000,000,000,000) has now been processed by the UK's high-value, same-day money transfer system, CHAPS, following a payment made yesterday (25 July). One quadrillion pounds is the equivalent to more than £16 million for every person in the UK.
The payment that broke through the quadrillion pound barrier was made at 12.09pm for £500 million. While CHAPS is mainly used for high-value business-to-business payments, consumers may have used the system to buy or sell a high-value item, such as a house or car. The average daily value of a CHAPS transaction in June 2011 was £1.8 million.
Dave King, CHAPS Scheme Manager, said:
"The mind boggling quadrillion pounds processed by CHAPS proves how vital the system is in keeping the UK's money flowing. Whether it's being used to pay for a house or for banks to settle their accounts, CHAPS continues to meet its objectives as a robust and reliable payment system."
CHAPS was launched on 9 February 1984, providing a guaranteed same-day service for the transmission of sterling-denominated payments. Since 1996, CHAPS has used an enhanced Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system where each individual payment is settled in real time across member settlement accounts at the Bank of England.