Making Payments

Payments

Accounts payable oversees the payment of supplier invoices, expenses claims and non-payroll payments on a weekly cycle.

Payment Policy

The University makes its payments to creditors', provided they are not in dispute, in accordance with terms of the contract. The University's standard terms and conditions can be found at Terms and Conditons of Purchase. All credit notes will automatically default to immediate payment terms.

Staff expenses are paid by BACS in the next available payment run following approval in People & Money.

UK Payments

The main payment run for all UK payments takes place twice a week on a Tuesday and a Thursday. Invoices processed and approved via People & Money by 5pm on a Monday/Wednesday will be included in the Tuesday/Thursday payment run.

Supplier and expenses payments are made by BACS electronic funds transfer directly into the recipient's account. A payment advice document is sent to the recipient for information only. Payments made by BACS will enter recipients' accounts within 3-5 working days of the payment run.

Overseas Payment

The main payment run for all non-UK payments takes place twice a week on a Tuesday and a Thursday. Supplier payments (i.e. Purchase Order Invoices) are made in UK pounds sterling (GBP) except where there are unavoidable operational reasons for a payment to be made in a foreign currency including where the recipient bank account will only accept payment in a particular currency.  Foreign currency payments are requested within People & Money. Typically a payment will take up to 5 working days after the payment run to enter the recipients account.

Recipients of overseas payments may not receive the exact same value into their bank account as the value that was sent from the University.  This can be due to currency exchange rates, the need for banks to convert our payment into the currency of the bank account or a handling fee by the recipient or intermediary banks. 

Student/Non-Staff and Non-PO-Invoice Payments

Invoices for Non-PO payments can be requested by completing the appropriate Finance Form. Staff should refer to the Finance Operations SharePoint site for guidance on the procedures to follow and the forms that need to be completed to request payment. when completing the form, please note:

If the claim/invoice is to be paid to a UK bank account, any foreign currency claims should be converted to sterling (GBP) at the nearest applicable exchange rate to the date of the transaction and claimed in sterling (GBP) “including any charges”. 

If the claim/invoice is to be paid to an overseas account, you should convert the claim to the relevant currency accepted by your bank i.e. to make a payment to an account held in Germany claims should be paid in EUROS. You can use: xe.com to convert the transaction or attach an image of the transaction from your bank statement for evidencing the claim value or;

As an alternative to completing any conversion calculations above, you can simply enter the sum you are claiming in the original currency you paid in and leave the conversion rate blank. Just confirm what currency you would like the payment to be made in (again it must match the currency accepted by your bank) and our Finance System can convert the payment using a built in currency convertor tool. We will let you know how much is being paid into your account via a BACS remittance advice which will be emailed to you when the payment has been made.

NOTE: We can only make payments in currencies supported by our Finance System if the payment currency you select isn’t supported, you should default to USD or GBP. Supported currency rates can be found here:

Currency list

Urgent/Same Day Payments

If you require a payment to be made outside of the weekly payment run cycle please contact the finance.helpline@ed.ac.uk to discuss the potential options available. 

Please note payments outside of the weekly payment run cycle cannot be guaranteed and charges will apply to any urgent BACS transfer due to additional bank charges.

Direct Debits

Facilities exist for making regular payments via direct debit . For more information on making payments via this route, please contact finance.helpline@ed.ac.uk.

Cash Payments

Facilities also exist for making cash cheque payments to individuals who do not have UK bank accounts but need to access the funds whilst in the UK. Please contact finance.helpline@ed.ac.uk if need to use this facility or mark the payment request clearly with a request for 'cash cheque'. 

You will be informed when the cash cheque is ready for collection.  The recipient should collect the cheque from Charles Stewart House ensuring they bring their passport with them for proof of identification. 

Contact the Finance Helpline

https://www.ed.ac.uk/finance/finance-helpline

Tel: +44 (0)131 651 5151

Email: finance.helpline@ed.ac.uk