‘Retry process’ saves customers from more than £200m-worth of bank charges

The banking industry claims that customers have been saved from charges of more than £200m over the course of a year, thanks to the “retry process” that attempts to complete payments initially rejected earlier in the day.

Industry figures show that about 25 million payments went through at the second time of asking during the 12 months to September 2015.

If payments hadn’t been attempted a second time, they would have bounced, with charges then being levied on account holders.

Under the retry system, standing orders, direct debits and future-dated payments that are initially rejected because of a lack of funds are processed again later the same day – potentially giving affected customers time to get sufficient funds into their accounts.

All banks and building societies that subscribe to the scheme give their customers until at least 2pm to pay cleared funds into their accounts, and some have later cut-off times.

Maurice Cleaves, chief executive of industry group Payments UK, says: “Customer savings of more than £200m in unpaid payment fees is testament to the success of the retry process being used across the banking industry.

“This process has given customers more control, acting as a useful safety net for those situations where they do not have enough money in their account.

“This said, if you find yourself regularly taking advantage of the retry process, I would strongly recommend reviewing the timing of your payments so that they leave your account on a more suitable day.”

If you need to get funds into your account quickly in order to meet your bank or building society’s cut-off time, the quickest way is to pay in cash, or to make a payment from another account using Faster Payments via online or phone banking.