BACS meaning

In March 2025, HM Treasury revealed plans to scrap the PSR, the watchdog for key payment rails including Faster Payments, BACS and Link, as well as the Visa and Mastercard card schemes. The PSR had earned prominence through headline-making actions, from pushing banks and payment providers to refund victims of authorised push-payment fraud, to probing the charges levied by Visa and Mastercard. The UK remains the sole nation with a standalone payments regulator, and the decision to dissolve it was framed as cutting compliance burdens for firms while simplifying reporting duties and sector oversight across the ecosystem. Ministers pledged to consult on proposals for reallocating payments responsibilities over summer 2025. Yet by July 2025, they quietly signalled—buried within a 76-page financial services growth strategy document—that the timetable had shifted to September 2025. That does not mean the market is clueless about the likely direction, though. The March 2025 statement indicated the PSR would ‘mainly’ be folded into the FCA, hinting that some roles were destined for other bodies. In essence,...

In this issue: Key R&I developments Corporate insolvency Restructuring Directors and insolvency Insolvency litigation Financial institutions R&I in Scotland Daily and weekly news alerts Corporate Rescue and Insolvency (October 2025) Key dates for restructuring and insolvency professionals New content Key R&I developments Insolvency Service announces update on INSSight system rollout The Insolvency Service confirms that deployment of its new internal case management platform, INSSight, will start in late October 2025 and continue into early November 2025. INSSight will support Official Receiver Services and Estate Accounts, including banking activities, and will run alongside the existing ISCIS Online service, which will remain available during transition. While the rollout is underway, users may face delays processing cheque or BACS payment requests, posting receipts to the Insolvency Service Account (ISA), and undertaking bulk case transfers. The Individual Insolvency Register will stay accessible, although there will be a short pause on registering new Individual Voluntary...

In this issue: Authorisation, approval and supervision Prudential requirements Risk management and controls Financial crime and sanctions Dispute resolution for financial services lawyers Sustainable finance and ESG Banks and mutuals Consumer credit, mortgage and home finance Regulation of insurance Payment services and systems Fintech and cryptoassets LexTalk®Financial Services: a Lexis®Nexis community Financial Services Enforcement Database Daily and weekly news alerts Intraday news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Authorisation, approval and supervision ESMA publishes updated registration guide for expanded supervisory mandate The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a refreshed guide now setting out registration obligations across a widening supervisory remit. Published 14 August 2025, it explains registering as a credit rating agency, trade repository, benchmark administrator, data reporting services provider, external reviewer under the EU Green Bond Regulation (EU) 2023/2631, and an environment, social and governance (ESG) rating provider under...

CASE HUB ARCHIVED — this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 17 March 2020; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline and commentary Case facts Outline UK merger inquiry into the completed purchase by Bottomline of Experian’s EPG business and associated assets. The deal featured horizontal overlaps within markets for payment software. Latest developments On 17 March 2020, the CMA published its final report, concluding that the transaction had not resulted in, and was not expected to result in, an SLC in payment software markets. Consequently, the CMA cleared the acquisition without conditions. Parties Bottomline Technologies, (de) Inc (Bottomline), a US-based provider, delivers electronic payment, invoice, and document automation solutions primarily across the US, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. Experian Limited (Experian) forms part of a group whose parent company, Experian plc, is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Experian plc is a multinational consumer credit reporting company; it collects and aggregates data...

Overview On 27 August 2024, a fresh Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement (the Agreement) was entered into by NHS Resolution, the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers (SCIL), and the patient safety charity Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) together. The Agreement took immediate effect upon signature on that day, when it was finalised. It superseded and replaced the earlier Covid-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol 2020 (the Protocol), which had allowed claims to progress efficiently during the coronavirus pandemic. The Agreement applies to civil claims under English domestic law (including claims under the Human Rights Act 1998) and to claims under the European Convention on Human Rights. It develops the success of the earlier Protocol in refining working practices in clinical negligence litigation and seeks to continue fostering constructive behaviours and positive cooperation by claimant and defendant solicitors, and to promote a consistent approach in practice across England. Notable features include an alteration to the process that previously operated under the Protocol for suspending limitation periods. It also sets out how parties in...

Coronavirus (COVID-19) : The COVID-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol (2020), last updated in June 2021, was introduced to modify how clinical negligence claims and litigation were handled during the coronavirus (COVID-19) period. It covered: Limitation and time extensions Communication Service Medical examinations Exchange of evidence Interim payments Settlement meetings and mediations BACS payments Costs budgeting Hearings (including adjournments) With effect from 27 August 2024, this Protocol was replaced by the Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement 2024, which develops the earlier approach, with many practices now forming part of day-to-day claims management. The new Agreement is not contractually binding, but places emphasis on collaborative working between the parties. Limitation period: Section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980) provides a three-year limitation in personal injury and clinical negligence cases from the date the cause of action accrued, or the injured person’s date of knowledge (for the purposes of LA 1980, s 14), if later. Where...

A: Introduction Date of monitoring review Person carrying out the review B: Consolidated data Periods: last [insert period] and last 12 months Suspected Accounts Rules breaches reported to the COFA Total breaches (serious and non‑serious) Serious breaches Reported to the SRA; if not same as “serious”, explain C: Data by compliance breach category Client money: non‑permitted use Client money: paid into office account Client money: wrongly withheld from client account Client account: incorrect withdrawal Client money: delay paying in Client money: not paid to client promptly/at all Client account: incorrect receipt Client account: other breach Interest policy breach Accounting records: office account Accounting records: client account Cheque/Bacs: incorrect signatory Bill of costs: miscalculation Accountant’s report Office account breach Other D: Conclusions from monitoring review Breach register current? Yes/No; if...

Money can be withdrawn from client account in different ways, eg by cash, cheque, BACS or simply transferring it to a different account Every removal of funds from a client account must be approved by an authorised signatory, save for straightforward movements of money between one general client account and another general client account with the same bank or building society. The way funds are withdrawn determines the required authority, as indicated in the tables below...