The Payments Council is relaunching its Sort Code Checker online tool, extending it beyond the UK Faster Payments Service, so that it now covers Bacs, Chaps, cheques and paper credits. Available via the Council's website, it stores all of the UK's 20,000 sort codes and presently claims more than 4,000 hits a day; a figure likely to rise with the new functionality.

The refashioned web-based Checker tool from the Payments Council means bank customers, particularly business users, in the UK can now enter the sort code of an account to see whether it can receive a Bacs or Chaps payment. The feasibility of setting up a direct debit instruction or cheque/paper credit can also be explored prior to establishing a link. Checking ahead could prevent delays in corporate payments, an important consideration in these recessionary times when cash flow is paramount.

Commenting on the move, Gary Cook, a payments integrity executive, at the Payments Council, said: "The improved Checker tool provides a very simple way for someone to ascertain whether an account is set up to accept a Faster Payment, Chaps or Bacs payment. As more of us are making payments online, or on the phone, it provides a very easy way of avoiding unnecessary delays. The Sort Code Checker strips out the element of chance because it quickly confirms to users what forms of payment are at their disposal."

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