The company responsible for billions of UK payments worth trillions of pounds has appointed experienced executive, Andy Hollingdale, as its first General Manager.

Andy has worked at Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs) for a decade, most recently as director of change management, responsible for driving the delivery of key projects like the high profile Current Account Switch Service (CASS).

The appointment comes on the heels of recent industry changes as operational responsibility for the Bacs system transferred to the New Payment System Operator (NPSO) in May of this year. Bringing the UK’s retail payment systems together – including Faster Payments and, later this year, Cheque and Credit Clearing, as well as Bacs – is key to establishing a single voice for retail payments in the NPSO. The aim is to enable a vibrant economy, reduce complexity and risk, and provide a platform for future competition and innovation.

Andy said: “The payments industry in the UK is moving apace, and it’s both a challenge and a privilege to be in a position to drive Bacs’ role in that. The company and its Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit payments, as well as all of the other services we offer, have become part and parcel of everyday life for people and businesses over the last 50 years, and we have an important part to play in the future, too.”

Bacs has processed more than 125 billion payments since its 1968 launch, and has a history of breaking its own records on a regular basis. In 2017 alone, a new high of 6.35 billion transactions passed through the Bacs system, at a value of £4.9 trillion, including 4.2 billion Direct Debits.

Nine out of 10 adults in Great Britain have at least one Direct Debit commitment, while Bacs Direct Credit is used to pay over 90 per cent of the UK workforce, as well as a billion benefit payments, and pensions and dividends. Between the two payment types, a new combined daily record was set last year, too, with 111.7 million transactions processed in a single 15 hour window.