--- title: "Bacstel-IP certificates: renewal, expiry & what happens if you miss it" description: "Pay.UK's 2025 Bacs figures: 5.03bn Direct Debits, up 1.8%, but unpaid Direct Debits rose 7.7% to 134.9m. What the numbers show and what they mean for you." image: https://interbacs.com/hubfs/can%20a%20bacs%20payment%20be%20reversed.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://interbacs.com/blog/bacstel-ip-certificates-renewal-expiry-and-what-happens-if-you-miss-it#main-content) [![Interbacs](https://interbacs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/interbacs-logo-colour@2x.png?width=560&name=interbacs-logo-colour@2x.png)](https://interbacs.com) - Who We Are - [Who We Are](https://interbacs.com/who-we-are) - [Meet The Team](https://interbacs.com/meet-the-team) - What We Do - [What We Do](https://interbacs.com/what-we-do) - Services - [Bacs Approved Bureau](https://interbacs.com/services/bacs-approved-bureau) - [Products
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Once that date passes, your software can no longer sign a file, and nothing reaches Bacs until a new certificate is in place.   For most service users the certificate sits on a smartcard issued through their sponsoring bank, and Bacs' own [Bacstel-IP FAQs](https://www.bacs.co.uk/resources/faqs/) say the lifespan of a smartcard "can vary by sponsoring payment service provider".   Expiry is one of the few Bacs problems that is entirely predictable, and it still catches businesses out, usually because the person who knew about the card has moved on. This is how signing works, what an expired certificate does to your collections and payroll, and how to make sure yours is renewed in time.   How does Bacstel-IP signing work?   Bacstel-IP is the secure channel businesses use to send Direct Debit and Direct Credit files to Bacs, and every file sent over it is signed with a digital certificate that proves it came from someone authorised to submit. The certificate is issued through your sponsoring bank's public key infrastructure (PKI), not by Bacs, and it is tied to the bank that sponsors your Service User Number (SUN).   The certificate lives in one of two places. Most businesses hold it on a smartcard. The alternative is a [hardware security module](https://interbacs.com/bacs-hsm-software), a secure device that holds the certificate and signs without a card. Bacs describes the split plainly: "A smartcard is usually used for attended signing. This means an authorised user must enter their PIN each time a signing action is required. A Hardware Security Module is generally used for unattended signing."   One smartcard "can currently be used for multiple user numbers", but "a separate smartcard is required for each sponsoring payment service provider". Your [Bacs submission software](https://interbacs.com/bacs-software/interpay) builds and sends the file, but it cannot sign without a valid certificate. [Our guide to Bacstel-IP software](https://interbacs.com/blog/what-is-bacstel-ip-software) covers the channel itself. How long does a Bacstel-IP certificate last? There is no single validity period that applies to everyone. Your sponsoring bank sets it, and Bacs' guidance is simply that "service users should check this with their sponsor".   What matters more is that the date is fixed. A certificate works on the day before expiry and not on the day after, whether or not a payroll file is due that morning.   So the first practical step is to find the date, which is shown on the smartcard or in the Payment Services Website. Put it in a shared calendar, with enough lead time for the bank to issue the renewal, for a card to be posted, and to cover the holder being on leave when it arrives. ## What happens if your certificate expires?   If your certificate expires, you cannot sign a submission, so you cannot submit. The file does not reach Bacs on its input day, and every payment in it misses that cycle.   The three-day cycle does the rest. Input day, processing day and entry day all move back together, by at least one working day and by more if the replacement certificate takes time to arrive.   For collections, cash arrives later than planned. A monthly run that misses its date can push much of the month's income into the following week, and out of line with the date your payers were told to expect. The scheme allows a collection to be taken up to three working days after the date in your advance notice. Any later, and your payers need fresh notice.   For payroll, the consequence is more visible. Staff who expect to be paid on Friday are not, and the fallback is to pay them another way, such as Faster Payments from online banking. That works for a handful of payments and becomes slow and error-prone for a full payroll. It is exactly what [a contingency plan](https://interbacs.com/blog/why-bacs-contingency-planning-is-essential) should cover.   An expired certificate is not a breach of the scheme rules and does not affect your SUN. It is an operational delay, measured in days and almost always avoidable.     How does certificate renewal work, and where does it go wrong?   Renewal runs through your sponsoring bank rather than through Bacs, and it has to be completed by an authorised contact before the expiry date. The mechanics vary by bank. The ways it goes wrong do not. - **Nobody knows who holds the card.** A smartcard is issued to a named person, and its PIN should be known only to them. If the card and the date both live in one person's desk, the business depends on that person without realising it. - **The authorised contact has left.** Banks send renewal notices to the contacts on record. If those people left last year, the new team finds out on an input day. - **There is only one card holder.** Illness, holiday or a resignation then stops Bacs for the whole business. - **The date falls in a bad week.** A renewal due in August, or just before Christmas, is easier to miss and slower to fix. The remedy is the same for all four. Keep more than one authorised contact and more than one card holder, update your bank's contact list whenever someone joins or leaves, and treat the renewal date as a business deadline rather than a personal reminder. ## Smartcard or HSM: which carries less renewal risk?   An HSM does not remove certificate expiry, but it changes who the expiry depends on. With smartcards the risk sits with individual card holders; with an [HSM](https://interbacs.com/bacs-hsm-software) it sits with one certificate that belongs to the organisation.   | | **Smartcard** | **HSM** | | --- | --- | --- | | **Where the certificate is held** | On a card held by a named user | Inside the HSM, in FIPS 140-3 Level 3 tamper-resistant hardware | | **Who is needed to sign** | The card holder, with their PIN, every time | Nobody in unattended mode; chosen approvers in attended mode | | **What expires** | Each card holder's certificate | The HSM certificate | | **How renewal happens** | Each holder renews through the bank | Apply to the bank, send the certificate signing request (CSR) Interbacs generates, send the issued certificate back to be loaded | | **When a holder leaves** | Signing depends on the cards that remain | No effect on signing | | **Main renewal risk** | Several dates, each tied to a person | One date, easier to track but still yours to manage |   For a business that submits often or through integrations, an HSM usually lowers renewal risk because there are fewer dates and none depends on one person. For an occasional submitter with two reliable card holders, a smartcard is often enough. Our HSM page covers that choice in more detail. ## Does a bureau remove the certificate burden?   Yes. A [Bacs approved bureau](https://interbacs.com/services/bacs-approved-bureau) submits under your own Service User Number but signs the files with its own credentials, so the certificate, its renewal and the risk of it lapsing belong to the bureau rather than to you.   That leads to the question every Bacs decision turns on: does your business have the internal resource to run Bacs submissions? That means keeping certificates current, owning the payment calendar, acting on reports and having cover in August. If the answer is yes, [Bacs approved software](https://interbacs.com/bacs-software) gives you control, with smartcards or an HSM for signing. If the answer is no, a bureau takes the submission work and the certificate with it.   Both routes need your business's own SUN, which comes from a sponsoring bank that assesses your trading history, financial standing and intended use. A bureau cannot lend you one. If you do not have one yet, start with [how to get a Service User Number](https://interbacs.com/blog/am-i-eligible-for-a-service-user-number). For the wider comparison, see our article on [bureau or in-house software](https://interbacs.com/blog/difference-between-bacs-approved-software-and-bacs-bureau-service). ## While you are checking: what changed on the PSW in 2026?     Anyone checking a smartcard should also check their set-up against the Payment Services Website changes that took effect in May. [The Bacs notice](https://www.bacs.co.uk/operating/accessing-the-psw-after-16-may-2026/) sets them out. - **Internet Explorer access ended on 16 May 2026,** including Internet Explorer mode in Edge. The PSW needs a current version of Edge, Chrome or Firefox. - **Websigner has replaced eSigner.** PKI users download it from their payment service provider. - **Transparent card readers must be replaced** with PIN-pad readers from your payment service provider. - **Some passwords must change.** An alphanumeric smartcard password may need to become numeric only. - **Two-factor authentication is encouraged.** Bacs invites PSW users to [enable two-factor authentication](https://www.bacs.co.uk/operating/psw2fa/). It is presented as recommended, not mandatory. What should you do about it? - Find the expiry date of every certificate your business uses to sign Bacs submissions, and put each one in a shared calendar rather than a personal one. - Check who holds each smartcard, and whether they still work for you and still appear on your bank's list of authorised contacts. - Make sure at least two people can sign a submission, so that a holiday or a resignation does not stop payroll. - Ask your sponsoring bank how far ahead of expiry it issues renewals, and how long a replacement card takes to arrive. - Confirm that every smartcard user has Websigner, a PIN-pad reader and, where needed, a numeric password. - Decide now what you would do if you could not submit on a payroll input day. - If renewals keep landing on one person, consider whether an HSM or a bureau would suit the business better. ## Interbacs: Bacs submission without the certificate scramble   Interbacs has supplied Bacs software and bureau services to UK businesses since 2003, and holds both Bacs Approved Software and Bacs Approved Bureau status. One processing team runs Bacs submissions every working day, so certificate renewals are part of our routine rather than an annual surprise.    If you run your own submissions, [InterPay](https://interbacs.com/bacs-software/interpay) works with smartcards or an HSM. If you would rather not hold a certificate at all, [our Bacs approved bureau](https://interbacs.com/services/bacs-approved-bureau) submits under your own SUN and keeps the signing, and the renewals, on our side.   Looking for support? [Get in touch with our expert team](https://interbacs.com/contact-us) for a friendly chat, or use [our software-or-bureau chooser](https://interbacs.com/#choose) to see whether software or a bureau fits.   We're always here to help, so [get in contact](https://interbacs.com/contact-us) with our friendly team of experts to discuss your payment options in more detail. 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Read more →](https://interbacs.com/blog/difference-between-bacs-approved-software-and-bacs-bureau-service) ### [![bacs-service-user-number](https://interbacs.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/large_closeup_person_reading_studying_document_8222bb03d2.jpg) 18 August 2026 No new Non-AUDDIS Service User Numbers after 1 July 2027 Read more →](https://interbacs.com/blog/no-new-non-auddis-service-user-numbers-after-1-july-2027) ## Get in touch Talk to a Bacs specialist about your collections. No hard sell – just an honest conversation about what would work for you. [Book a Demo →](https://interbacs.com/bacs-software/software-demo) [Contact Us](https://interbacs.com/contact-us) [![Interbacs](https://interbacs.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Interbacs_Logo_Full_WHITEOUT.png?width=480&name=Interbacs_Logo_Full_WHITEOUT.png)](https://interbacs.com/) Bacs payment experts since 2003. Making direct debit simple, secure and profitable for all UK businesses. 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