When a business pays an employee, a supplier, the tax authorities or anyone else it should consider what will be the most appropriate method to use. In doing so it will take into account the cost of each payment method, the ease with which payment can be made and how quickly the payment will affect its cash or bank balances.
There are many different payment methods available and the main types are shown in the table below:
| Bank payments | Other payments |
| Cheques | Cash |
| Bank drafts | Credit cards |
| Standing orders | |
| Direct debits | |
| BACS | |
| CHAPS | |
| Faster Payments Service |
Over the next several pages we will look at the characteristics of above payment methods.
