UK Payments Administration

The UK Payments Administration Ltd (UKPA) (previously APACS, the Association for Payment Clearing Services) is a United Kingdom trade organisation that brings together all payment systems organisations and gives banks, building societies and card issuers a forum where they can work together on non-competitive issues. It covers most forms of payments within the UK including cash, credit cards, debit cards, cheques, and automated payments such as direct debits, salary payments and online/phone transactions.

It has been responsible for the creation of rules regarding customer liability in cases of card and cheque fraud and starting in 2004 oversaw and guided the transition of debit cards to Chip and PIN.

UKPA was created on 6 July 2009, as a direct successor of the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS) to act as a portal company for each of the respective sectors of UK payment services such as BACS, CHAPS, the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, and other businesses.