Bacstel-IP - an overview 

Bacstel-IP was launched in 2003 as a direct replacement to the old Bacstel delivery channel, which was withdrawn on 31st December 2005. All Bacs submitters needed to update their systems by the end of 2005 to ensure that mission critical payments were not disrupted.

Benefits of Bacstel-IP

Faster Payment confirmation
Ability to track payment status
Highly secure Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) security standards
Ability to automate all or selected parts of the payments process
Online payment reports
Bacs Approved Software Service ensures all submission software meets rigorous standards
Wider service window - available from 07:00 Monday to 22:30 Friday

Strategic benefits

Bacstel-IP can offer organisations much more than improved communications with Bacs, enhanced security for payment file submissions and greater flexibility in the payment file signing and authorisation process.

Implemented correctly, Bacstel-IP creates the opportunity to significantly reduce risk and cost through:

  • automation of some or all of the payments process - reduces the amount of manual intervention and minimises the potential for error and fraud
          
  • timeliness of report retrieval and reconciliation - improves cash flow and customer service
     
  • increased validation - eliminates the costs associated with misapplied payments
     
  • sophisticated workflow procedures - enables the tailoring of processes to individual departments’ requirements
          
  • eliminating multiple Bacs systems - consolidates all payments through one system, reducing support and maintenance overheads
       
  • comprehensive business continuity arrangements - maintains an uninterrupted service, ensuring the success of mission critical payments
         
  • the capability to support biometric fingerscan devices - provides the highest level of access control and user authentication

Implementing Bacstel-IP will not in itself provide significant strategic benefits - these can only be achieved through careful planning and taking advantage of the opportunities Bacstel-IP creates for consolidating systems or replacing manual processes with automated ones.

Experian Payments Gateway is the global payments platform from Experian Payments. Providing a highly configurable Bacstel-IP solution, it currently processes over a third of all Bacstel-IP transactions and has been chosen by the majority of the UK’s high volume, high value Bacs users including Aviva, BT and ScottishPower.

01/01/06