Types of Payments

Here you will find information about the different types of payment methods and payment systems widely-used in the UK.

Technology continues to impact on the way we make payments and increasingly we are choosing automated ways to pay. More
Automated Payments logo

This section explains what cheques and bankers’ drafts are; what the cheque clearing cycle is; and explains the 2-4-6 changes. More

2,500 years after the first use of coins as payment tokens, in volume terms, cash is still our most common payment method. More

This section includes information about CHAPS, which is an electronic bank-to-bank payment made within the UK in sterling. More
CHAPS logo

This sections includes information about the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), and the Payment Services Directive (PSD). More

Faster Payments is the first new payments service to be introduced in the UK for more than 20 years. More