Bacs Warns Of B2B Payments Disruption Amid Upgrades

U.K. payments group Bacs is warning corporate IT managers to upgrade their systems or face potential disruption of supplier payments.

Bacs Payment Schemes is advising its corporate clients that, starting June 13, the company will adopt a new security process and end its support of older connection protocols. The firm warns that, unless IT professionals upgrade their systems, they may not be able to make payments through the Bacs website to suppliers.

Reports by Information Age covering the impending upgrades describe it as “a significant shakeup that could have serious implications for U.K. businesses” using Bacs to issue wage payments, supplier payments or payment collections via Direct Debit.

“The situation requires immediate attention,” emphasized Data Interchange Managing Director Ewan Friend in an interview with the publication. “This really is something you do not want to leave until the last moment or to get embroiled in the inevitable last-minute rush to meet the deadline.”

“If you don’t upgrade your software, you could find that you’re not able to pay your staff and suppliers or collect payments from customers,” Friend added.

Bacs is advising its customers to contact an approved software supplier to aid in the upgrade process.

“This is a critical issue across all industries, reaching down to SME organizations and businesses,” the Data Interchange executive added. “Whether you are a golf club, a local gym, an association or a business that makes or collects payments, you will naturally want the control over these payments that comes with direct debits — as opposed to standing orders.”

“Without making the necessary software upgrade, people will not get paid, and revenues will not get collected, potentially creating a vicious liquidity circle.”

Bacs, formerly known as Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services, recently launched a partnership with Faster Payments, an initiative aimed at providing faster payments services to U.K. businesses. The venture also looked to prevent error in payment transfers by facilitating the process of investigating and reconciling any mistakes made.