How long do cheques take to clear these days?

[sequenci]

I have no idea, is it about 5 days or so?

 

It's a refund from Ikano finance.

[gyzmo]

I think its the same as it always has been. I know one or two banks will credit the account on the same day (Lloyds is it?). My cheques still take about 5 days with Abbey.

[Guest littlesally]

It takes 5 working days but I put the check in one account then emmediately transfer the money to my other account by phone, then it can be withdrawn.

 

Sally x

[Bookworm]

Some banks will let you use the money straight away (Barclays).

 

I have just received new T&Cs from Natwest where they make a great noise about industry standards changing, but I can't see that it is making any difference, tbh. 4 to 5 working days is the norm.

[borisbeaver]

Natwest seems to clear cheques in 2 days. In on Monday, withdraw on Wednesday.

[sequenci]

I'm with Lloyds.

 

It is likely the cheque will arrive on tuesday, It will be cashed on weds, I would really like the money on the Friday.

[Bookworm]

NatWest seems to clear cheques in 2 days. In on Monday, withdraw on Wednesday.

 

Better have a good read at the new T&Cs (lurid pink, you can't miss them!) coming through your door any day soon, then. ;-)

[shywazz]

I'm with the halifax for my sins lol no really there a decent bank, well ive had no probs so far, my cheques when i'm lucky enough to bank one, if i bank on mon am the funds are available wed. I have two accounts the second account is very basic, which the cheques take twice as long in the second account. My partner banks wiv Barclays the cheques take 3 working days clear on the 4th. But if you have a Barclays currant account, you can withdraw the cheque value the same day. of course this amount will be taken back should the cheque bounce.

[Goldlady]

Natwest two days. Barclays about seven - even if it is a Barclays cheque from the same branch ???) - both business accounts.

[CAGisforME]

Just to clarify.

 

(Retired Barclays Staff here)

 

Cheques take 5 working days to clear through the system.

 

HOWEVER when the finds are available differs from bank to bank and account to account.

 

For instance: With Barclays (and I believe with Lloyds) SOME customers have an Authorised Uncleared Limit, whereby they can withdrawn up to £1000 against uncleared cheques. HOWEVER, should these cheques subsequently "bounce" the customer has to cover it. IE pay in enough funds to cover the debits. This AUL is over and above any overdraft limit.

 

For example: £1000 overdrawn and up to limit. Pay in £900 cheque. Account can now sit at £1900 overdrawn (Cleared balance) until the cheque clears and shows a £1000 debit balance again.

 

Barclays current accounts clear a cheque IN or OUT of your account Barclays to Barclays the NEXT working day.

 

When a cheque leaves YOUR account does not necessarily mean it has cleared in the recipients account.

 

To the OP: Check with your own bank. It may be that they will allow you to draw against uncleared funds and as a refund from IKANO is unlikely to bounce, you should be ok.

 

 

 

I'm going to add a little disclaimer to the above information. Not ALL Barclays accounts (or Lloyds etc for that matter) have the facility I mentioned. (The AUL) Despite what many Lloyds customers think, since their advertising campaign, they do not "clear" cheques paid in immediately. They allow you access to the funds. If the cheque bounces, you will pay the price. They do give you interest on it immediately though (for what it's worth!)

 

And also to bear in mind......Cheques can "theoretically" still bounce well after 5 working days, if the cheque is reported as fraudulent or stolen etc. It's unlikely, but it CAN still happen.

 

 

 

 

And you thought there was a simple answer Sequenci!

[Goldlady]

Unlike fraudulent credit card payments which can take several months to clear!! We lost £800 a few years ago which we had taken on a card over the phone after doing all the address checks and everything. Not long after that we stopped accepting cards!! And my poor friend who was given a forged bankers draft for 35k which was only spotted by the bank after three days by which time his car had left the country.

 

Give me cash any day.

[CAGisforME]

Indeed Goldlady......

 

Check those watermarks.

 

My daughter took a dodgy £20 the other day. It was very very authentic looking. My "experienced hands" told me it didn't "feel" right and I was proved correct, however they come from years of experience and this note had watermarks etc.

 

Apparently there are some amazingly good "dodgies" about!

 

Perhaps we should all stick to £1 coins?

 

[vandermerwe]

In these days of all-seeing surveillance and snooping it couldn't just have something to do with the dosh the banks make whilst manoeuvreing cheques around the system could it?

 

Vandermerwe

[Curlyben]

Funny you should ask.

I paid a Cap1 (Barclays) cheque into my LTSB account at 12:30 on monday.

It showed on the account straight away, but I was unable to draw on it until this morning, Friday.

So It seem to take 3 CLEAR working days and drawable on the fourth.

 

If the cheques are with the same bank it takes no time at all, normally 1 working day.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Some banks will let you use the money straight away (Barclays).

 

 

News to me. It seems to take 5 working days and I've been with them 7 years.:-?

[make them aktiv runners]

If the cheque goes in before the end of the normal banking on Tuesday (around 3pm) it will definately be clear for use the following Tuesday. If you take advantage of later opening hours, chances are that the cheque will begin its clearing process a day later. If you really need the funds on Friday there is 3 options:

 

1) If you are confident the cheque will clear, you can issue some-one else a cheque on Friday. Your payment will clear later than that you have put in.

 

2) Again if confident it will clear and you need cash on Friday, ask for an overdraft facility to cover what you need.

 

3) If really desperate and cannot do either of above, you can ask for the cheque to be cleared in 24 hours. Unfortunately this option does have a fee.

[installspark]

Better have a good read at the new T&Cs (lurid pink, you can't miss them!) coming through your door any day soon, then. ;-)

 

The time Natwest take to clear a cheque depends on a few factors.

 

Cheque drawn on Natwest account paid in at the same branch as on the cheque will generally clear by next working day.

 

Cheques paid into for less than £500 generally clear in 2 working days.

 

Cheques for over £500 will take between 2 and 5 working days to clear, the higher the amount the longer it will take.

 

This is my experience.

 

Be interesting to see the new T&C as they've not been updated on the Natwest website yet, still on Nov 06.

[djgordyp]

I know this thread is about clearing cheques but what about ATM deposits. I am with the halifax and on a couple of occassion have had to deposit cash via my branches ATM. I can't figure out why it takes 4 days to clear. I can't help thinking of the interest they are probably earning on this money.

 

And on yet another note. Why in this day and age does it take 4-5 days for a direct debit to go through? These delays are what have caused some of the unlawful charges I have had to pay in the past. You know how it is. You realise a bill is about to be paid so you transfer money from one account to the other but the money arrives a day or two after the DD was collected.

[CAGisforME]

News to me. It seems to take 5 working days and I've been with them 7 years.:-?

 

Weird Al - You may not be aware that you have an Authorised Overdraft Limit. Only way to find out is to check with them.

 

They aren't given to every customer. It depends on your "marker".

 

IE have you been a good Mr Yankovic? Not been over the limit or been charged in the past few months etc.

 

If you've been a good lad the chances are that you CAN draw on the money, just that they haven't told you.

 

If you use Barclays online banking you would still show as being over the limit in the "Balance" at the top of the page. The balance you would be interested in in this case is the ledger balance, the one at the end of the previous days transactions.

 

[CAGisforME]

In these days of all-seeing surveillance and snooping it couldn't just have something to do with the dosh the banks make whilst manoeuvreing cheques around the system could it?

 

Vandermerwe

 

In a word.

 

Yes.

[CAGisforME]

Djgordyp

 

The reason it takes a day longer if you deposit via ATM is that the envelopes aren't dealt with (even if the machine is opened throughout the day) until after "close of business" and therefore not processed until the following working day.

[barracad]

In these days of all-seeing surveillance and snooping it couldn't just have something to do with the dosh the banks make whilst manoeuvreing cheques around the system could it?

 

Absolutely.

 

The only reason it takes so long is because the banks invest your money in the overnight stock markets.

 

Other European countries can process cheques on the same day they are received.

 

The Government's Cruickshank Report looked into this whenever that was - 1999 or 2000 I believe, and yet still no action has been taken.

[Sidewinder]

In the days where Tesco accepted cheques I wrote a cheque in there on a Sunday afternoon, the following day was a Bank Holiday yet the cheque was debited from my account on the Tuesday. When I queried this with Abbey I was told that 'some large companies have a special arrangement' whereby cheques cleared immediately. Always wondered why electronic clearance worked for them but not for your average Joe.

[medsec]

I opened a Halifax basic account when i was claiming my charges back from Abbey. It takes SEVEN WORKING DAYS for a cheque to clear on my account.

 

Now, wouldn't you say people with basic accounts (i.e. no credit check, i.e. probably the poorest among us) need that money quicker than anyone else? Well, they are making money out of the poorest in society, the b*st*rds!

[Guest littlesally]

It takes 5 working days but I put the check in one account then emmediately transfer the money to my other account by phone, then it can be withdrawn.

 

Sally x

 

 

I can't believe there are so many replies for this!

 

Anyway, my mum gave me a cheque from her Barclays account for £1000, I paid it into my Natwest account and tried to draw on it by the cash machine, but it would not let me. I then rang and transfered the money to my other Natwest account and drew it out.

I drew it out within an hour of paying it in.

 

I guess the only way to be sure is to ask at your local bank.

 

Sally x