Strategic Payments Platforms and Infrastructure
March 13, 2025
New figures reveal that 16.5 million Direct Debits have been set up to pay for vehicle tax in the UK, two years since the option was first introduced by the Driving and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA).
In fact, since the DVLA started offering the option in October 2014, the number of payments collected this way has now surpassed a staggering 134 million. To put this into context, on the final day of last month (30 September) alone, a record 7.2 million Direct Debits were processed for vehicle tax.
The growing popularity of the payment method among motorists was a contributing factor to yet another record breaking year for Direct Debit in 2015, with 3.9 billion transactions made this way in total, at a value of over £1.2 trillion.
Bacs’ CEO, Michael Chambers, said: “Today’s figures once again illustrate the continued popularity of Direct Debit among consumers and billers alike and follow what was a record 2015 for Bacs.
“It’s particularly impressive that, just two years after the DVLA launched the payment method, 16.5 million Direct Debit Instructions have been set-up and over 134 million Direct Debit payments have been collected for vehicle tax.”
– Ends –
Notes to editors:
For further press information, please contact:
Damion Clark or Steve Greenhalgh at Real Public Relations.
E: [email protected] Tel: 01353 667934
M: 07789 911314 (Damion)
M: 07779 129193 (Steve)
Daniel Scaife, PR and Social Media Manager, Bacs
M: 07961 496825 E: [email protected]
Kerris Macauley, Head of PR, Bacs
M: 07974 326373 E: [email protected]
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About Bacs:
Bacs has been maintaining the integrity of payment related services since 1968, with responsibility for the schemes behind the clearing and settlement of UK automated payment methods, Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit, as well as the provision of managed services for third parties, such as the Cash ISA Transfer Service, and the development, management and subsequent ownership of the Current Account Switch Service.
More than 110 billion transactions have been debited or credited to British bank accounts via Bacs since its inception; in 2015, 6 billion UK payments were made this way, while a new record was also set in September 2016 with the number of transactions processed by Bacs in a single day reaching a high of 109.3 million.
A not-for-profit entity which has maintained carbon neutral status since 2012, Bacs is a membership company limited by Guarantee.
For further information please visit www.bacs.co.uk
More about Direct Debit:
A Direct Debit is an instruction from a customer to their bank or building society authorising an organisation to collect varying amounts from their account, normally for regular payments for everything from household bills to charitable donations. Almost nine out of 10 British adults have at least one Direct Debit commitment, with 73 per cent of household bills paid this way (up from 71 per cent in 2014); 62 per cent of people in GB prefer to pay most bills by Direct Debit, and the number of people who feel positively towards Direct Debit reached 77 per cent in 2016. Nearly 3.9 billion Direct Debits were processed in 2015, and Direct Debit payments are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee, a money back consumer safeguard.
For more information about Direct Debit, visit www.directdebit.co.uk
More about Bacs Direct Credit:
Bacs Direct Credit is a simple, secure and reliable service, which enables organisations of all sizes to make payments direct into a bank or building society account – unlike cash or cheques, Bacs Direct Credit payments cannot be lost, stolen or delayed in the post. There are more than 150,000 organisations in the UK using Bacs Direct Credit; while it has been widely adopted to pay benefits, wages and salaries – nearly 90 per cent of the country’s workforce is paid this way and one billion benefit payments are made via Bacs Direct Credit – it is also the payment method of choice for a range of other applications such as pension payments, employee expenses, insurance settlements, dividends and refunds.
Bacs also owns and manages the Current Account Switch Service, as well as operating the Cash ISA Transfer Service and the Biller Update Service. Find out more here.
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