Bank of Scotland to join IPSO

BANK OF SCOTLAND is to join the Irish interbank clearing system next week.

The Irish Payments Services Organisation (IPSO), the industry group that co-ordinates the system for managing payments between banks, said the bank’s application for admission had been accepted and would take effect from next Monday.

Access to the clearing system will allow the bank to offer business and personal customers the ability to make interbank payments on the same terms as customers of other clearing banks. The move will result in the bank offering direct debits, cheque books, standing orders and other money transmission services in its own right. It had previously relied on other banks to act on its behalf on an agency basis.