UK Banks to shutter joint telephone payment system Paym

Paym, a UK payments system launched by a number of banks Pay.UK, is set to be wound down in 2023.

For the past eight years, 15 of the UK’s largest banks have collaborated on the mobile telephone-based payments system Paym but the recent acceleration in payments technology is making it obsolete. 

Paym is a relatively simple method of sending and receiving cash via a mobile phone number. It is still currently active but will close permanently for all users on 7 March 2023. 

Those involved in the scheme are the Bank of Scotland, Barclays, The Cumberland, Danske Bank, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Isle of Man Bank, Lloyds Bank, the Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, TSB, and Ulster Bank.

The decision, according to Paym, has been prompted by the “rapid evolution” in payments tech since Paym’s launch in 2014 with payment volumes made through Paym having been diminished over the past three years.

“There is a shift by UK consumers towards newer forms of mobile payment and access to Faster Payments through online banking. These changes in consumer preferences build on the foundation created by Paym to offer ever faster and better ways to move money and support everyday lives,” according to a statement on Paym website.