Making payments from the Client Account

You can effect a movement of funds from the Client Account in one of four ways, although due to the risk of cheques getting lost electronic payments are preferred for all payments:

1. BACS - for transfers within the UK only. Funds take approximately three days to reach their destination, but there is no charge to the client. The maximum sum that can be sent by BACS is £150,000.
2. Domestic telegraphic transfer (aka CHAPS) - for transfers within the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Funds will reach their destination on the same day provided the instruction is received by midday on a banking day. The client is charged £35 (plus VAT) for this service.
3. International telegraphic transfer - for transfers to destinations outside the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Funds are sent on an asap basis with transit times determined by reference to the destination country. The client is charged £40 (plus VAT) for this service.
4. Cheque - posted out the same working day provided the instruction is received by midday.

Where funds need to be converted into another currency, we do this using our bank. We have agreed preferential rates which are generally competitive with those offered by other currency brokers. We cannot use any money transfer/currency conversion service belonging to the client.

Requests to move funds from the Client Account should be made through the Payment from Client Account tool. Within that you can specify when you want a payment to leave our account, either by reference to a time/date or simply when you let the Cashier know, either by phone or email. This allows you to line up the payment so it's ready to go, and this is a good idea. The Cashier can be extremely busy and you must ensure that payment instructions are received by the Cashier as early as possible and in all cases before 4pm on the day of payment. The Cashier need to carry out a series of checks before payments can be made (which in some cases can involve contacting the recipients to validate bank details). These checks are essential to protect client funds and ensure payments are made correctly and to reduce the risk of third-party fraud, which can affect the timing of payments being processed. Submitting payment requests early helps reduce the risk of delays in the process. Ideally please telephone the Cashier where the matter is urgent and we will put it to the front of the queue.

You should note that our bank will conduct its own fraud and sanctions checks. These are not within our control. In our experience they are rare but can delay payments from a few hours to a few days. It's a good idea to submit CHAPS payment requests in the morning for this reason too.

You must note that our Client Account can't be used to provide banking services, see Acceptable use of our client account, below.