Soukias Jones makes Faster Payments

The identity for a real-time payment system called Faster Payments, which is to be launched in the UK next year, has been revealed for the first time today.

The identity, devised by London consultancy Soukias Jones Design, will be the face of an electronic payment system that will allow customers to make Internet, phone and standing order transfers and payments in near real-time.

Traditional payment schemes currently take three days for funds to clear.

Major high street banks and building societies including Barclays, Abbey, Royal Bank of Scotland, Alliance & Leicester, Lloyds TSB and HSBC have signed up to the scheme.

APACS, the trade association for the UK payments industry, commissioned Soukias Jones in July, having worked with the consultancy on a number of other identity projects.

The consultancy started working with APACS at the beginning of last year, following a three-way credentials pitch.

Soukias Jones partner Grahame Jones claims the system is the first to be developed in the UK for more than 20 years.

Design director Andre Soukias says, ‘Clearly, we had to evoke the concept of speed in the design. The client also wanted to keep the identity simple, as it will be used in many different environments by a whole host of organisations.’

The consultancy is working on guidelines for Faster Payments, and has previously undertaken a naming project for the scheme.