Payment Timing Calculator
UK and European payment schemes settle on working days, not calendar days. A BACS payment takes three working days, CHAPS settles the same working day if it beats the cut-off, and Faster Payments runs around the clock. Weekends and bank holidays push every dated scheme back, and euro payments follow a different holiday calendar from sterling ones.
Pick a scheme and a submission date below to see the expected arrival date, with the working days counted out.
- Faster Payments
- Seconds. Runs 24/7, including weekends and bank holidays.
- BACS
- Three working days: submitted day one, processed day two, credited day three.
- CHAPS
- Same working day if it beats the cut-off. Customer deadline 17:40; your bank's is earlier.
- SEPA Credit Transfer
- Next TARGET business day at the latest, often the same day.
- SEPA Instant
- Under 10 seconds, 24/7.
- SWIFT
- One to five working days, depending on the corridor and intermediary banks.
Scheme-level rules only. Your own bank will often set an earlier cut-off than the scheme, and payments can be held for fraud or sanctions checks. Bank holidays come from the official gov.uk bank holiday calendar (England & Wales).
How long each payment scheme takes
| Scheme | Typical timing | Operating days | Scheme cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faster Payments | Seconds, up to 2 hours allowed | 24/7/365 | None |
| BACS | 3 working days (submit, process, credit) | Working days only | Scheme window closes late evening; your bank or bureau cuts off far earlier |
| CHAPS | Same working day | Working days, 06:00–18:00 | 17:40 for customer payments; banks set earlier |
| SEPA Credit Transfer | Next TARGET business day at the latest, often same day | TARGET2 calendar | Set by each bank |
| SEPA Instant | Under 10 seconds | 24/7/365 | None |
| SWIFT | 1–5 working days, corridor dependent | Working days; this tool counts the UK calendar only | Set by each bank |
Sources: Pay.UK (BACS, Faster Payments), Bank of England (CHAPS), European Payments Council (SEPA rulebooks), ECB (TARGET calendar), gov.uk (bank holidays). Pay.UK operates BACS and Faster Payments; the Bank of England operates CHAPS; the Eurosystem operates TARGET.
The three UK schemes exist because they solve different problems. BACS is cheap and batched, which suits payroll and direct debits where the date is known in advance. Faster Payments is immediate but subject to value limits. CHAPS is same-day and unlimited in value, which is why it is used for property completions and large supplier settlements — and why it costs the most per payment.
The bank holiday trap in euro payments
Sterling payments stop on UK bank holidays. Euro payments stop on TARGET2 closing days. These are different lists, and the mismatch is a recurring cause of late payments for businesses paying suppliers or staff across both currencies.
The TARGET system (known as TARGET2 until its 2023 consolidation into T2, and still widely called that) closes at weekends plus just six weekday dates a year: 1 January, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, 25 December and 26 December. So the late August bank holiday is an ordinary settlement day for euro payments, while 1 May is an ordinary working day in the UK but a full closure for euro settlement. If you run payroll across both, both calendars need to be in your run schedule.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a BACS payment take?
BACS, operated by Pay.UK, runs on a three-working-day cycle. The file is submitted on day one, processed by the BACS system on day two, and the funds are credited to the beneficiary on day three. Weekends and bank holidays are not working days, so a payment submitted on a Thursday typically credits on the following Monday.
What is the CHAPS cut-off time?
The CHAPS system, operated by the Bank of England, is open from 06:00 to 18:00 on working days. The deadline for customer payments (MT103) is 17:40 — the 18:00 close applies to interbank payments (MT202). Individual banks set their own, often much earlier, cut-offs for their customers, commonly in the early to mid afternoon, so a payment must reach your bank well before the scheme deadline to settle the same day.
Do Faster Payments work at weekends?
Yes. Faster Payments operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including weekends and bank holidays. Most payments arrive within seconds, though the scheme allows up to two hours and banks may hold payments longer for fraud checks or where limits apply.
Are UK bank holidays the same as euro payment holidays?
No, and this catches businesses out regularly. Euro payments settle on the TARGET2 calendar, which closes only on the six dates listed above. UK-only bank holidays are normal settlement days for euro payments, and TARGET2 closures such as 1 May are normal working days in the UK.
Why did my payment arrive later than this calculator predicted?
The calculator applies scheme-level rules. Your own bank may impose an earlier cut-off, hold the payment for fraud or sanctions screening, or require additional authorisation. For SWIFT payments, intermediary banks in the chain add their own processing time, which is why the range is one to five working days rather than a fixed figure.
Related tools and guides
Check the beneficiary details before you send with the IBAN checker, and work out what the transfer costs with the payment cost calculator or the FX calculator. How reliably large UK firms pay once a deadline exists is the subject of our study of official payment practices data. For the schemes in depth, see our guides to BACS, SEPA and SWIFT.
Compiled by the financeb2b editorial team · Bank holidays from gov.uk under the Open Government Licence · Calendar refreshed 29 August 2026 · Last updated 30 August 2026 · Editorial policy
Running payments across several schemes?
A Gemba account covers Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS, SEPA and SWIFT from one balance, so you are not stitching together separate providers for each rail.
Open a Gemba account