Moving money and paying bills

Standing orders
Direct Debits
Bill payments
Transferring money between accounts
Transferring payment mandates between accounts
Halifax Payment Plan
Bank of Scotland Secure

Standing orders
A standing order is an instruction to make payments from your account, usually on a regular basis, to a specified UK bank or building society. Examples of use include fixed monthly payments and annual club membership fees. If the payment amount or payment date changes, you'll need to update your standing order.

To set up a standing order
To set up a new standing order, from 'My accounts' either select ' Transfers, bills, standing orders, DDs ' from the 'Take me to' drop-down menu and click 'Go' or, from the account you wish to make the payment from, click ' Transfers, Direct Debits, pay bills & standing orders' from the left hand menu. This page displays all the different regular and one-off payments set up on your account. Navigate to the 'standing orders' section, click 'Create new' and select 'Go'.

Input the details as requested and click 'Next'. You'll be presented with a confirmation screen asking you to confirm the details you have entered are correct before the payment is created.

Standing orders can only be made to sterling accounts. To make a payment to a non-sterling account please refer to the International Payment Services section.

First payment amount
You can specify to pay a different amount for the first payment of your standing order, e.g. if you want to pay an initial amount of £11, followed by subsequent monthly payments of £12.
Leave this field blank if you wish to pay the same amount each month.

Last payment date
You can specify the date of the last payment you want make for your standing order.
Leave this field blank if you don't know the last payment date, or want the standing order to continue indefinitely. You can always delete the standing order at a later date if you wish.

Standing order payments
Payments are only sent on working days and the money won't leave your account until we make the payment. If the standing order is due to leave your account on a weekend or bank holiday, your account will be debited on the next available bank working day when the payment is sent.  You should allow up to 3 working days after the money leaves your account for a payment to reach the recipient.

Where possible we will send standing orders from your HBOS bank account through the Faster Payments Service. As a result, payments may arrive in the receiving account on the same day they leave your account. You don't need to do anything to send your standing orders faster; we do this automatically.

By the end of October, most standing orders will be sent faster. Where the receiving bank does not offer this service the payment could still take up to three bank working days.

Please ensure you have sufficient funds in your account the day before any payments are due.

To view an existing standing order
To view an existing standing order, from 'My accounts' either select ' Transfers, bills, standing orders, DDs ' from the 'Take me to' drop-down menu and click 'Go', or  if you're already viewing the account,  click ' Transfers, Direct Debits, pay bills & standing orders' from the left hand menu. This page displays all the different regular and one-off payments set up on your account. Navigate to the 'standing orders' section, select 'View details' from the drop-down menu next to the standing order you wish to view and click 'Go'.

To amend or delete a standing order
To amend or delete an existing standing order, from 'My accounts' either select 'Transfers, bills, standing orders, DDs ' from the 'Take me to' drop-down menu and click 'Go', or if you're already viewing the account, click 'Transfers, Direct Debits, pay bills & standing orders' from the left hand menu. This page displays all the different regular and one-off payments set up on your account. Navigate to the 'standing orders' section and select 'Delete' from the drop down menu, and click 'Go'.
At the final confirmation screen, click the 'Delete' button.

Please ensure you make any amendments or deletions at least 1 working day before the payment is due so the changes have time to take effect.

Our demo shows you how to set up, view, amend and delete a standing order.

  
Direct Debits
A Direct Debit is an instruction authorising another organisation to collect varying amounts of money from your account. The amount being debited to your account and the payment date may be changed by the collecting organisation, but they should inform you in advance. Examples of use include monthly mortgage payments and payment of utility bills.

To set up a Direct Debit
As a Direct Debit is set up to collect money from your account by another organisation, the setting up of the Direct Debit will be done by them through their bank / building society, using the account details you would have supplied them at the time you purchased the goods or services.

To view a Direct Debit
To view a Direct Debit, from 'My accounts' either select 'Transfers, bills, standing orders, DDs' from the 'Take me to' drop-down menu and click 'Go', or if you're already viewing the account, click 'Transfers, Direct Debits, pay bills & standing orders' from the left hand menu. This page displays all the different regular and one-off payments set up on your account. Navigate to the 'Direct Debits' section, select the 'View details' from the drop down menu and click 'Go'.

You cannot amend / change a Direct Debit. If you want to change anything, such as the payment date, you'll need to contact the company you dealt with to set up the Direct Debit originally.

To delete / cancel a Direct Debit
To cancel a Direct Debit, from 'My accounts' either select 'Transfers, bills, standing orders, DDs' from the 'Take me to' drop-down menu and click 'Go', or  if you're already viewing the account, click ' Transfers, Direct Debits, pay bills & standing orders' from the left hand menu. This page displays all the different regular and one-off payments set up on your account. Navigate to the 'Direct Debits' section, select 'Delete' from the drop-down menu and click 'Go'. At the final confirmation screen, click the 'Delete' button.

You should always inform the organisation receiving the payments if you cancel a Direct Debit before final payment has been made.

Our demo shows you how to view and delete a Direct Debit.

Bill Payments
Paying bills online, such as your electricity, gas or phone bill is easy and convenient.
You can also use this facility to transfer money to another person or organisation.

To set up a bill payment
To set up a new bill payment, from 'My accounts' either select 'Transfers, bills, standing orders, DDs' from the 'Take me to' drop-down menu and click 'Go', or if you're already viewing the account, click 'Transfers, Direct Debits, pay bills & standing orders' from the left hand menu. This page displays all the different regular and one-off payments set up on your account. Navigate to the 'Transfers and bill payments' section and click the 'Create new' button.

You'll be asked to provide the bank account details of the receiving organisation which should be shown on the bill. If they're not, contact the company who sent you the bill directly and ask for them.

Payments can only be scheduled for working days and the money won't leave your account until we make the payment. When making a bill payment, your balance will not reduce immediately and your account will be debited on the next available working day. You should allow up to 3 working days after the money leaves your account for a payment to reach the recipient.

Where possible we will send bill payments from your HBOS bank account through the Faster Payments Service. As a result, payments may arrive in the receiving account on the same day they leave your account. You don't need to do anything to send your bill payments faster; we do this automatically.

By the end of October, most bill payments will be sent faster. Where the receiving bank does not offer this service the payment could still take up to three bank working days.

Please ensure you have sufficient funds in your account the day before any payments are due.

Bill payments can only be made to sterling accounts. To make a payment to a non-sterling account please refer to the International Payment Services section.

Recipient – This is the name of the company or person to whom the bill or transfer is payable, for example 'nPower', 'BT' or 'John Smith', and will help you identify the purpose of the bill payment in future.

Reference – This is additional information that will help you and the recipient identify what the payment is for. For example this could be a unique customer reference shown on a bill, credit card account number or an invoice number.

Referred for authorisation – To help prevent our customers from online fraud, in certain situations, we may further investigate a request to pay a bill / transfer funds from your account. We will take steps to ensure this is a genuine request before allowing the payment.

To pay a bill already set up
From 'My accounts' either select 'Transfers, bills, standing orders, DDs' from the 'Take me to' drop-down menu and click 'Go', or if you're already viewing the account, click ' Transfers, Direct Debits, pay bills & standing orders' from the left hand menu. This page displays all the different regular and one-off payments set up on your account. Navigate to the 'Transfers and bill payments' section, select 'Transfer money / pay bill' from the drop-down menu next to the payment and click 'Go'.

Enter the amount and payment date, followed by the 'Next' button. Check your details and then click the 'Submit' button.

Payments can only be scheduled for working days and the money won't leave your account until we make the payment. You should allow up to 3 working days after the money leaves your account for a payment to reach the recipient.

Where possible we will send bill payments from your HBOS bank account through the Faster Payments Service. As a result, payments may arrive in the receiving account on the same day they leave your account. You don't need to do anything to send your bill payments faster; we do this automatically.

By the end of October, most bill payments will be sent faster. Where the receiving bank does not offer this service the payment could still take up to three bank working days.

To amend / delete a bill payment
To amend or delete an existing bill payment, from 'My accounts' either select 'Transfers, bills, standing orders, DDs' from the 'Take me to' drop-down menu and click 'Go', or if you're already viewing the account, click ' Transfers, Direct Debits, pay bills & standing orders' from the left hand menu. This page displays all the different regular and one-off payments set up on your account. Navigate to the 'bill payments' section and select 'Delete' from the drop down menu, then click 'Go'. At the final confirmation screen, click the 'Delete' button.

Please ensure you make any amendments or deletions at least 1 working day before the payment is due so the changes have time to take effect.

Our demo shows you how to set up, view, pay and delete bill payments.

Transfer money between accounts
You can transfer money between the accounts you hold with us, and also transfer money into accounts held with other banks / building societies.

To transfer money between the accounts you hold with us, just use the 'Transfer between my banking and savings accounts' function on 'My accounts'.

Using the 'From' dropdown list, choose the account you want to move the money from, then from the 'To' dropdown list select the account which you wish to transfer the money to. Enter the amount you want to transfer then click the 'Transfer' button.

Only accounts you've added to 'My accounts' will be shown in the dropdown lists.  Our 'adding accounts' section shows you how to do this.

Our demo shows you how to transfer money between accounts.

To transfer money into the account of another person or organisation, for example to pay a one-off amount to a friend, follow the same process outlined in the 'To set up a bill payment' section.

Transferring payment mandates between accounts
You can easily change the account from which you pay an existing standing order, bill payment or transfer.

To move an existing payment, from 'My accounts' either select 'Transfers, bills, standing orders, DDs' from the 'Take me to' drop-down menu and click 'Go', or if you're already viewing the account, click 'Transfers, Direct Debits, pay bills & standing orders' from the left hand menu. This page displays all the different regular and one-off payments set up on your account. Navigate to the payment you wish to move, select 'Move to another account' from the drop-down menu next to the payment and click 'Go'.

Our demo shows you how to move payments between accounts. Please ensure you allow at least 1 working day for the move to take effect.

Halifax Payment Plan
A Halifax Payment Plan is a regular payment set up to pay one Bank of Scotland/Halifax account from another Bank of Scotland/Halifax account, for example, a payment from a Bank of Scotland current account to a Bank of Scotland personal loan or Halifax mortgage. These are set up by us at the time you apply for a new product, and they can't be amended or deleted from within the online service.

Only Halifax mortgage payment details will be shown online.  If you would like details for HPP payments set up to other accounts, please speak to the customer service team of the receiving account.

Bank of Scotland Secure
Bank of Scotland Secure is a free service provided by Bank of Scotland and certified by Visa International and MasterCard International. It provides a secure method of payment when you use your debit card to pay for goods, services or make payments over the internet.

Find out more about Bank of Scotland Secure and enrol for the service at our 'Bank of Scotland Secure' page within Bank Accounts.