LONDON, August 7 /PRNewswire/ -- VocaLink, the payment transaction specialist, announced today that its contract with Bacs Payments Schemes Limited (Bacs) to process the UK automated payments has been extended. The contract which ran to 2010 has been extended for a further five years to 2015.

Bacs is responsible for the Schemes behind the clearing and settlement of automated payments in the UK including Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit. VocaLink services and maintains the infrastructure network on behalf of Bacs, processing more than 5.5 billion automated payments a year on behalf of the Scheme.

Speaking about the contract extension, Michael Chambers, managing director of Bacs, said: "We are pleased to confirm that we have extended the contract with VocaLink to provide the infrastructure for the processing of Bacs payments. VocaLink has consistently provided a service that exceeded our expectations and has the experience and scale to meet our future processing needs."

Marion King, chief executive of VocaLink, said: "We are delighted that Bacs has extended the contract for VocaLink to process its transactions. Bacs provides a valuable service to the UK payments industry which we are proud to be able to support. The Bacs contract is a very important part of our core business and we look forward to continuing the relationship and to process growing volumes of the UK's automated payments."

The VocaLink Payment Platform processes over 90 million transactions on a peak day. Over 5.5 billion Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit payments are processed on behalf of Bacs per year; with over 90% of UK salaries and 70% of regular household bills paid via Bacs Direct Credit and Direct Debit respectively.

Notes to Editors

About VocaLink

VocaLink is a specialist provider of transaction services to banks, their corporate customers and Government departments. It processes domestic and international automated payments and provides ATM switching solutions. On a peak day, the VocaLink automated payment platform processes over 90 million transactions and over half a billion in a month. Its switching platform connects the world's busiest ATM network of over 60,000 ATMs. Its Real-Time Payments platform provides the central infrastructure for the UK Faster Payments service. It is working with BGC to provide outsourced processing for the majority of Sweden's domestic payments.

Having pioneered electronic payments for over four decades, many of the world's top banks and their corporate customers rely on VocaLink to meet their transaction needs. Its processing services offer banks reach throughout the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and beyond; and are complemented by value-added services that leverage industry expertise and technical capabilities.

Please visit http://www.vocalink.com for more information

About Bacs

Founded in 1968, Bacs, the not-for-profit, membership-based industry body owned by 15 of the leading banks and building societies in the UK and Europe, is celebrating 40 years of automated payments this year.

Responsible for the schemes behind the clearing and settlement of automated payments in the UK including Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit, Bacs has been maintaining the integrity of payment related services for four decades.

Since its inception, more than 68 billion transactions have been debited or credited to British bank accounts via Bacs. And in 2007 over 5.5 billion UK payments were made this way with a new peak day record achieved in November when 90.3 million items were processed in one day - a daily volume increase of 8.4%.

For further information please visit http://www.bacs.co.uk or go to http://www.thesmartwaytopay.co.uk, the home of The Smarts, an animated family who use automated payments to help improve financial management and control.

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. This can be used to ensure regular, safe and efficient payments of anything from household bills to charitable donations. Almost three billion Direct Debit payments are processed by Bacs a year and 75 per cent of adults now have at least one Direct Debit commitment.

Independent research conducted in November 2007 by Carbon Footprint Limited, highlighted that the carbon footprint generated by a Direct Debit is eight times less than that of a cheque - making it the greener and smarter way to pay for regular commitments. For further information please visit: http://www.bacs.co.uk/environment.

To learn more about setting up a Direct Debit to help keep your bank account in order, please contact your bank or building society.

More about Bacs Direct Credit:

Bacs Direct Credit is mainly used for paying wages and salaries - in fact over 90 per cent of the UK workforce is paid via Bacs Direct Credit. In total, Bacs Direct Credit is used for paying four million wages every week and nearly 25 million salaries a month.

For further information please contact: Gerald Cross at the JJ Group +44(0)1865-343100 or vocalink@thejjgroup.com Kevin Monks at VocaLink +44(0)870-920-8574 or kevin.monks@vocalink.com Deborah Souter at VocaLink +44(0)870-920-8651 or deborah.souter@vocalink.com The Bacs press office at WAR +44(0)845-680-1368 or press@war.uk.com

For further information please contact: Gerald Cross at the JJ Group, +44(0)1865-343100 or vocalink@thejjgroup.com; Kevin Monks at VocaLink, +44(0)870-920-8574 or kevin.monks@vocalink.com; Deborah Souter at VocaLink, +44(0)870-920-8651 or deborah.souter@vocalink.com; The Bacs press office at WAR, +44(0)845-680-1368 or press@war.uk.com