SmarterPay is a BACS bureau that processes payments using the standard BACS 3-working-day cycle.

Once payroll has been completed, a BACS file is submitted to SmarterPay. SmarterPay then processes the payments from the employer’s bank account to employees’ bank accounts.

BACS payments follow this timeline:

E.g if your payroll is the last Friday of the month, your payroll would need to be run by Tuesday night.

SmarterPay does not check whether there are sufficient funds in the bank account before attempting payment. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure funds are available and that any bank-imposed limits are not exceeded.

Where applicable, HMRC payments can also be processed through SmarterPay.

If you would like PayFit to start processing employee payments for you, this is done using Telleroo.

For full guidance, please see our article Paying employees using Telleroo.

If you’re unsure which payment process applies to your account, PayFit Support can help.

What happens if there is a problem with our BACs payment?

Please contact PayFit as soon as you are aware of any problems with your BACs file or payments. PayFit will liaise with SmarterPay on your behalf. If a file needs to be recalled there will be a charge of £45 from SmarterPay.

What happens if there is not enough money in the company bank account?

It is down to the owner of the SUN to make sure funds are available. This will be set out in the terms between the SUN sponsor (bank) and the SUN owner. It is not anything SmarterPay has any control over. The bank may impose limits on files as a condition of the SUN provision. Any failures will be reported back via BACs reports.

Is there any Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations?

Yes the KYC obligation sits with the SUN owner when they set up payments or Direct Debits. Conditions will be laid out by the sponsoring bank.

Are there any limits on the value that can be sent to an employee?

There are technically no limits unless there are any set out by the sponsoring bank, as above.

If there is incorrect bank account information for an employee, how quickly will PayFit notify the admin?

All of our solutions include “modulus checking” , which validates the account number and sort code. It will be identified when the file is uploaded and if anything is wrong, we will notify the admin to retrieve the correct information. We will then need to create a new file with the correct details. We also validate the processing date of the file to ensure it meets a banking day.

How long does it take for banks to link SUN numbers once you have made the request?

Some banks will do it same day, although be prepared for others to take a few days.