The banking industry has announced a further delay to the introduction of same-day electronic payments.

Industry body Apacs said it would no longer meet its deadline of the end of this year for scrapping the current system where money transferred by internet or telephone can take three days to be credited.

However, the clearing of cheques will be streamlined from November.

Apacs spokeswoman Sandra Quinn said when the system was first proposed it was envisaged that payments made by telephone or internet would clear on the same day, unless they were made late in the day, in which case they would clear the next day.

However, a new, even faster system was now being designed. "We are starting from scratch. We always said the deadline was tight and it has proved to be tighter than we expected."

She said the system they had been working on would probably have needed upgrading within five years. Under the new system, payments will still not be made instantaneously. The system should go live some time during 2008.

Paul Smee, chief executive of Apacs, said: "Clearly, it is more important to make sure it is done with our total confidence than rushed to meet a self-imposed delivery date."