From £10,000 to £1 million
When Faster Payments opened in May 2008, a single payment could not exceed £10,000. A Bank of England staff working paper published in April 2026 traces how the cap grew.
| Date | Scheme limit per payment |
|---|---|
| May 2008 | £10,000 |
| 2010 | £100,000 |
| November 2015 | £250,000 |
| February 8, 2022 | £1 million |
Usage grew faster still. The paper puts the scheme at 109 million single immediate payments in 2009 and 4.27 billion in 2024, citing figures from Pay.UK, its operator.
Instant for you, three times a day for the banks
Money shows up in the recipient’s account almost as soon as you press send. Behind that, the banks have not yet paid each other. According to the same paper, net obligations between participants are calculated and settled in central bank money three times each business day, and since 2015 a prefunding arrangement at the Bank has covered the risk that a bank fails to pay in between. That gap is the difference between a credit and settlement.
The service is also cheap. The paper says retail customers are generally not charged for Faster Payments, against a typical charge of about £25 for a CHAPS payment.
Where you see it
Britain’s tax office, HMRC, tells taxpayers on its Self Assessment payment page that Faster Payments from online or telephone banking usually reach HMRC the same or next day, weekends and bank holidays included.
Crypto users meet it at the exchange. On a withdrawal page last updated on November 4, 2026, Kraken offers GBP withdrawals by FPS through two providers, each with a £5 minimum, a £1.95 fee and a near-instant processing time, and its deposit page lists FPS deposits as free. Kraken adds that bank compliance checks it does not control can sometimes slow a transfer down.
Scam refunds and the own-account test
Since October 7, 2024, UK payment firms have had to reimburse victims of authorized push payment scams sent by Faster Payments or CHAPS, with a few exceptions. The Payment Systems Regulator sets the maximum claim at £85,000, asks victims to report within 13 months and allows firms an optional excess of up to £100. Its dashboard of July 30, 2026 says 88% of the money lost, or £316 million, was returned in the first 18 months.
Here is where crypto investors can get caught out. The regulator’s reimbursement rules cover a payment only when it lands in a UK account “not controlled by the consumer,” and they define a controlled account as one the consumer “can access and make payments from.” Whether a transfer to an exchange account in your own name passes that test, before a fraudster talks you into sending the coins on, the published rules do not say outright.
The dashboard itself notes that wider reporting of push payment fraud, crypto scams included, goes beyond Faster Payments. Treat any request to buy crypto and forward it as the warning sign, and call the bank before the transfer, not after.