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Foreign services

TIPA

TIPA-NET is an automated system which enables payments to be routed to recipient bank accounts, via the destination country's automated clearing house (e.g. BACS in the UK). TIPA-NET represents the most cost effective method of making non-urgent payments, £8 total costs with no recipient charges. This service is offered through a network of co-operative banks and is only available in the following countries - Belgium, France, Spain, USA and Germany.

Important information

Changes in anti-terrorism legislation in the USA have meant that the US government has now increased rights of access to information held by banks about their customers, and to details of funds transfers.

As all SWIFT payments are processed through the USA, any details processed on these payments will be disclosed to the US Department of Treasury. This also applies to TIPANET payments that are sent to the USA.

The Data Protection Authority in Belgium has ruled that this is a breach of the Data Protection Directive. This means that the sender of the money must be made aware and be given the option not to proceed with the transfer if they do not agree to this sharing of information.

If you request a SWIFT to anywhere in the world, or a TIPANET payment to the USA, you will be need to confirm that you accept the following:

In order to make this payment, personal information relating to the individuals involved in the transfer may be processed for the purposes of

a) Complying with applicable laws, including without limitation anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws and regulations,

b) Fighting crime and terrorism,

c) Disclosure to any Government entity, regulatory authority or to any person we reasonably think necessary for these purposes. This may mean that personal information will be transferred outside the EEA to countries, which do not provide the same level of data protection as the UK.

How to make a payment

Customers wishing to use the TIPA-NET service must ensure that they have all the account details that each countries banking system requires (details below) and should be aware that if they do not have all the details required, the transfer would have to go through as a non urgent SWIFT with the relevant costs.

Please ask the beneficiary for their BIC code and IBAN
(Payments cannot be made to non resident accounts)