Consumer group Which? has called for more effort from the credit card and banking industry in raising awareness of the Faster Payments Service.
Many credit card users are unaware of the advantages of using the Faster Payments Service (FPS) - and the industry is not doing enough to inform them, according to a consumer watchdog.
Which? magazine was responding to figures from UK payments association Apacs, released to correspond with the first anniversary of the introduction of FPS. The service allows payments between banks to be made on the same day, rather than three working days as was the case with the old BACS system.
However, Apacs revealed that less than half of all standing orders use FPS and Which? research from earlier in the year showed that a number of banks had not yet implemented the system.
"It's hugely disappointing that we're a year down the road and the Faster Payments Scheme still isn't fully rolled out," said Nicolas Frankcom, Which? FPS expert. "Consumers continue to be confused about which banks do and which don't use FPS, so the industry needs to get its act together."
Mr Frankcom advised confused consumers to find out from their bank if they offer FPS and use the Apacs sort code checker to find out if a destination bank can receive the faster payments.
"If you’re paying a bill or paying off your credit card, check for timescales on the bill to see when you need to make your payment," he added.
