2019 BPS Exchange Rate Revealed

Thu 3 October 2019

The 2019 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) exchange rate has been confirmed by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) this week. The euro exchange rate for calculating BPS 2019 payments made in sterling will be €1 = £0.89092. This is very similar to the past two years, being only a marginal decrease on the past two years (2018 = €1:£0.89281, 2017 = €1: £0.89470).

The RPA will start BACS payments from Monday 2 December. In 2018, the RPA successfully paid 93.4% of BPS claims in December 2018, which was their best performance since 2015. The payment period runs until 30^th June 2019. Let’s hope they improve on this again this year, and ensure all claimants are paid in good time.

I recommend farmers take this opportunity to ensure the RPA has their up-to-date bank account details, to minimise any possible payment delays. Once a payment has been made a remittance advice is sent in the post, confirming the amount paid. A claim statement will also be sent to explain how payments have been worked out. It is important these statements are checked carefully to ensure you are receiving the correct payment.

For claimants in Wales, interest-free government loans, worth up to 90% of the expected claim value, will be available in Wales for those who don’t receive their payment on the first day. However. farmers have to apply for this support scheme in advance, starting this month.

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