Actioning your Addacs & AWACS: A guide to Bacs processing

If you have been supplied a service user number (SUN) from your sponsoring bank then you should be receiving a call from Bacs, the governing body for Direct Debit processing in the UK payments industry, reminding you to action your ADDACS and AWACS reports.

AWACS

Is a fast and efficient electronic messaging service allowing banks to notify service users of any changes to a Bacs Direct Credit payment, providing them with the information needed to help maintain their payments database.

ADDACS

Is an electronic messaging service which allows banks to notify service users if changes are made to a customer’s Direct Debit Instruction (DDI), for example when a DDI is cancelled or when an account has been transferred to a new bank or building society using the Current Account Switch Service.

The issue with not actioning your AWACS/ADDACS reports is that the Current Account Switch Service only forwards the DDI’s automatically to the customer’s new bank account for 13 months. If the ADDACS/AWACS has not been actioned during the 13 month period, it can affect the service user receiving their Direct Debit payment or from sending their Direct Credits from the correct recipient, which can lead to issues to the service user’s cash flow.

“Delays or non-compliance can lead to serious consequences such as the sponsoring bank taking away your service user number” At recent Bacs Affiliate meetings, Bacs expressed and reminded service users that actioning your ADDACS and AWACS reports is a mandatory requirement, and that delays or non-compliance can lead to serious consequences such as the sponsoring bank taking away your service user number, preventing you from collecting Direct Debits and sending Direct Credits.

You can view slides from this meeting with facts and figures about ADDACS/AWACS here.

One key reason for non-compliance is these service users don’t have a Bacstel-IP software that allows them to action their ADDACS/AWACS reports automatically. These software’s only display ADDACS/AWACS reports per Bacs requirement, not allowing the service user to action such reports automatically.

InterPay (Interbacs Bacstel-IP approved software) allows you to download your ADDACS/AWACS reports from the software and tailor the actions you wish to take. After they have been action it will then automatically update bank account details in InterPay’s Direct Debit Management System (DDMS) and trigger emails or letters if relevant.

If you would like more information on actioning ADDACS/AWACS reports, or would like to find out more about our InterPay software, please do not hesitate in contacting Interbacs today by calling 08444 127 180, emailing sales@interbacs.com.