UK bank holidays 2026 for payments

CHAPS and Bacs run on working days in England and Wales, so in 2026 they stop at weekends and on 8 bank holidays: 1 January, 3 April, 6 April, 4 May, 25 May, 31 August, 25 December and 28 December. Faster Payments runs every day, bank holidays included.

When will it arrive?

Pick the payment, then the day and time you send it. The calculator applies that system's closing days and cut-off, and gives the business day the payment settles, with every day it waits through and why.

Your bank can stop taking payments before the system does. If you know its cut-off, add it and the calculator counts from there.

It all runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

Holyheld Business sends and receives ACH, SEPA, wires and Faster Payments. The pricing page lists the fees, and the off-ramp converts supported stablecoins to fiat for company payments.

Leave it empty to count from the system's own cut-off.

Result

Settles on Tuesday 29 December 2026

CHAPS settles each payment the same business day, up to the 17:40 UK time cut-off for customer payments.

Sent Thursday 24 December 2026 at 17:45 GMT

Why this day

  • 17:45 GMT is after the 17:40 GMT CHAPS cut-off for customer payments, so it moves to the next business day.
  • Friday 25 December: bank holiday in England and Wales (Christmas Day)
  • Saturday 26 December: weekend
  • Sunday 27 December: weekend
  • Monday 28 December: bank holiday in England and Wales (Boxing Day, substitute day)

These are the system's own times. Your bank can stop taking payments earlier; add its cut-off to count from it.

Bank holidays in England and Wales 2026

CHAPS closes on bank holidays in England and Wales, and Bacs counts English working days only, so these 8 days stop both, as weekends do. The list is GOV.UK's.

Faster Payments runs every day, bank holidays included. Scotland and Northern Ireland have bank holidays of their own, listed below; the Bank of England treats them as normal settlement days.

HolidayDatePayments
New Year’s DayThursday 1 January 2026 No settlement
Good FridayFriday 3 April 2026 No settlement
Easter MondayMonday 6 April 2026 No settlement
Early May bank holidayMonday 4 May 2026 No settlement
Spring bank holidayMonday 25 May 2026 No settlement
Summer bank holidayMonday 31 August 2026 No settlement
Christmas DayFriday 25 December 2026 No settlement
Boxing DayMonday 28 December 2026 Substitute day; no settlement

Source: GOV.UK, as published on 27 October 2026.

Scotland and Northern Ireland only, 2026

These bank holidays are not holidays in England and Wales, so CHAPS and Bacs run as normal on them.

HolidayDateWhere
2nd JanuaryFriday 2 January 2026 Scotland
St Patrick’s DayTuesday 17 March 2026 Northern Ireland
World Cup bank holidayMonday 15 June 2026 Scotland
Battle of the Boyne (Orangemen’s Day), substitute dayMonday 13 July 2026 Northern Ireland
Summer bank holidayMonday 3 August 2026 Scotland
St Andrew’s DayMonday 30 November 2026 Scotland

Faster Payments, CHAPS and Bacs hours

Faster Payments runs around the clock. CHAPS settles high-value payments the same business day, and Bacs takes three working days.

These are the systems' own times. Your bank sets its own cut-offs, which can be earlier.

SystemHours and cut-offs
Faster PaymentsEvery day, 24 hours, in real time; up to £1m per payment under the scheme, and banks set their own limits Source: Pay.UK
CHAPSBusiness days, 06:00 to 18:00 UK time; customer payments by 17:40 Source: Bank of England
CHAPS from September 2027Opens at 01:30 instead of 06:00, Monday to Friday Source: Bank of England
Bacs Direct CreditSend the file between 07:00 and 22:30 on input day; Bacs processes it the next working day, and it reaches the recipient's account on the third Source: Bacs
Bacs settlement09:30 UK time on day three Source: Bank of England
Working daysMonday to Friday, except bank holidays in England and Wales Source: Bacs
Clock changes 2026Times are UK time: GMT, and BST from 29 March to 25 October. From 8 to 28 March and 25 to 31 October 2026, New York is an hour closer to Frankfurt and London than usual, because the US and Europe change their clocks on different Sundays. The calculator allows for it.

Questions about UK payments in 2026

  • In 2026 they are Thursday 1 January (New Year’s Day), Friday 3 April (Good Friday), Monday 6 April (Easter Monday), Monday 4 May (Early May bank holiday), Monday 25 May (Spring bank holiday), Monday 31 August (Summer bank holiday), Friday 25 December (Christmas Day) and Monday 28 December (Boxing Day, substitute day). CHAPS and Bacs do not run on them or at weekends.

  • Yes. Faster Payments runs day and night, 365 days a year, for payments up to £1m under the scheme. Your bank can set a lower limit.

  • CHAPS opens at 06:00 and closes at 18:00 UK time on business days, and customer payments must be submitted by 17:40. From September 2027 the Bank of England opens CHAPS at 01:30. Your bank can set an earlier cut-off.

  • Three working days. Send the file by 22:30 on day one, Bacs processes it on day two, and the money reaches the recipient's account on day three. Weekends and bank holidays in England and Wales do not count, so a file sent on Wednesday 23 December arrives on Tuesday 29 December.

  • No. CHAPS follows the bank holidays in England and Wales, and the Bank of England treats Scotland-only and Northern Ireland-only bank holidays as normal settlement days. Bacs counts English working days. In 2026 that covers 2 January, 15 June, 3 August and 30 November in Scotland and 17 March and 13 July in Northern Ireland.

Payment calendars

Sources

Every date and time on this page comes from these official pages, as published on 27 October 2026.