NatWest Cheque Clearing Time

[romneymarsh]

I would be very happy to never see a cheque ever again but unfortunately several of my larger customers still send a cheque.

Do you know if Hobbs Parker have any intention of moving over to BACS?

I asked Hobbs Parker about this a couple years back . They said they are more than happy with cheques because of all the ones that get put behind the clock on the mantle piece and forgotten about for a month or two . Apparently it still happens !!!

 

[Lincs Lass]

My Barclays branch closes Tuesday and Wednesday because of lack of customers ..makes paying cheques in very difficult and takes for ever to clear ,,Try to avoid getting them now ,,get my customers to pay online if they can do it

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

I would be very happy to never see a cheque ever again but unfortunately several of my larger customers still send a cheque.

Do you know if Hobbs Parker have any intention of moving over to BACS?

I doubt it very much as I believe they make a bit pot of people forgetting to pay them in for a long time or never!!
I use the same bank as them so they clear immediately when I pay them in.

 

[Happy]

Yes, I assumed it would be in my account by the next morning, but no. I had an anxious 3 day wait, but turned out alright in the end.

Was this your first payment via BACS from that person?
First time you pay someone can take a while to go through unless they are with same bank as you.
Otherwise I find it goes through within a couple of hours.

 

[Pasty]

What hacks me off about Natwest / RBS is that if you have a DD coming out on MOnday, they usually make the money unavailable on Saturday / Sunday. My business is with RBS and missus banks with Natwest. We had a situation the other day where we needed money for a day out on Sunday. Gas bill due to come on Monday on the day she was due to be paid so no problem. But they made that money unavailable to her on the Sunday. So I had to go scrabbling around on my phone in Pizza Hut, transferring money it f the business etc. That is surely wrong?

 

[ffukedfarmer]

I doubt it very much as I believe they make a bit pot of people forgetting to pay them in for a long time or never!!
I use the same bank as them so they clear immediately when I pay them in.

Which bank is that? With Natwest it now takes 4 days for cheques to clear even if you share the same branch with the person who wrote the cheque.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Lloyds

 

[Kevtherev]

Natwest are shyte

 

[caveman]

I doubt it very much as I believe they make a bit pot of people forgetting to pay them in for a long time or never!!
I use the same bank as them so they clear immediately when I pay them in.

Which bank is that? With Natwest it now takes 4 days for cheques to clear even if you share the same branch with the person who wrote the cheque.

I use the same bank and branch that South East Marts use for their day to day banking, although their account is held at another branch, whilst my account is at the branch they pay into.
Cheques I pay them are debited from my account on the same day I issue them and they pay them in. (As identified by checking my account online).
Cheques they issue to me from the account they hold at the other branch, for marketed stock and goods, take five working days to clear.
It gets even more complicated though.
The account they use to pay "wages" for droving or other work done is actually held at the same branch as my account and cheques issued to me from there also take five working days to clear.
I can only assume from that though, that BARCLAYS are using my and their monies for five days for free as well as all the usuall money they make with charges associated with cheques.

 

[danjen]

I use the same bank and branch that South East Marts use for their day to day banking, although their account is held at another branch, whilst my account is at the branch they pay into.
Cheques I pay them are debited from my account on the same day I issue them and they pay them in. (As identified by checking my account online).
Cheques they issue to me from the account they hold at the other branch, for marketed stock and goods, take five working days to clear.
It gets even more complicated though.
The account they use to pay "wages" for droving or other work done is actually held at the same branch as my account and cheques issued to me from there also take five working days to clear.
I can only assume from that though, that BARCLAYS are using my and their monies for five days for free as well as all the usuall money they make with charges associated with cheques.

Barclays draw money out of accounts the moment the cheques are cashed,but take 5 days to clear cheques paid in.Bacs take 3 days aswell.Ive often asked them what happens to the money in the 5 days."its being checked in the system"they reply.A "system" that earns them billions in interest every year.!

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

How long do other banks take to clear cheques (business accounts)? I am getting increasingly disillusioned with Natwest and this could well be the issue that makes be move.

Very old thread I know, but recently saw this message from my bank:

"Beginning this month a new industry-wide system is being phased in throughout 2018 which will allow banks to exchange electronic images of cheques instead of the current system of exchanging paper cheques. This will result in funds becoming available for withdrawl (with no risk of the funds being reclaimed) by midnight on the weekday after the cheque has been paid-in. Conversely for any cheque you issue, the funds will leave your account sooner."

To be honest I thought they were ready to phase them out altogether, but there must have been some stay of execution.

 

[Yorkshire Square]

Very old thread I know, but recently saw this message from my bank:

"Beginning this month a new industry-wide system is being phased in throughout 2018 which will allow banks to exchange electronic images of cheques instead of the current system of exchanging paper cheques. This will result in funds becoming available for withdrawl (with no risk of the funds being reclaimed) by midnight on the weekday after the cheque has been paid-in. Conversely for any cheque you issue, the funds will leave your account sooner."

To be honest I thought they were ready to phase them out altogether, but there must have been some stay of execution.

According to the missus, you can now pay Barclays cheques into your Barclays account using your mobile phone app! You start the process in the app and it prompts you to take a photo of the cheque. No need to go near a branch. Which is good as they've either totally closed or are on half-day/day-off closing.

Can't verify this, as nobody ever gives me cheques...

 

[Y Fan Wen]

I was amused to find that a BACS payment costs more than a cheque.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

I just looked it up. Apparently its an entire new clearing system: Image Clearing System. I kid you not...

"The next hurdle to overcome was the requirement for the law to be changed which would eliminate the need for cheques to be physically transported around the country.

The existing law surrounding cheques dates back to the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882. As you can imagine updating this legislation so that it could encompass the proposed changes wasn’t the simplest of tasks. The changes were finally completed and occurred via the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act which became law in July 2016.

The law now makes it clear that once paid into a bank account, the image that has been created may be exchanged with the payer’s bank for payment rather than the physical cheque. Indeed, this is how the Image Clearing System is operating."

https://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/blog/image-clearing-system-–-revolutionary-journey-february-2018

 

[Yorkshire Square]

Ah, the Bills of Exchange Act. Takes me back to my banking exam days; promissory notes and all that...

 

[Cowabunga]

I just looked it up. Apparently its an entire new clearing system: Image Clearing System. I kid you not...

"The next hurdle to overcome was the requirement for the law to be changed which would eliminate the need for cheques to be physically transported around the country.

The existing law surrounding cheques dates back to the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882. As you can imagine updating this legislation so that it could encompass the proposed changes wasn’t the simplest of tasks. The changes were finally completed and occurred via the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act which became law in July 2016.

The law now makes it clear that once paid into a bank account, the image that has been created may be exchanged with the payer’s bank for payment rather than the physical cheque. Indeed, this is how the Image Clearing System is operating."

https://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/blog/image-clearing-system-–-revolutionary-journey-february-2018

Thank goodness for that. It is a major step in the right direction in the circumstance we find ourselves, with nearest bank branches 20 or more miles away. Not everyone wants the post office staff at the supermarket to know their business, and in my case even that isn't convenient anyhow as there's no parking anywhere near for most of the Summer.

I prefer paying and receiving money by cheque, as I can write all the details down on the stubs. That's what I find missing with BACS, the relatively detailed convenient references I write in the cheque and paying-in stubs. It's such a convenience for costings and accounting.

 

[chickens and wheat]

• A new, easier and quicker method of clearing cheques is being introduced across the UK from October 30th onwards. Called the Image Clearing System, it will enable images of cheques to be exchanged between banks and building societies instead of moving paper around the country. This new approach allows you to withdraw money much sooner than you do currently. So, if you pay in a cheque on a weekday (before our cut-off time) you will be able to withdraw the funds by 23.59 on the next weekday (provided that the cheque has not bounced). However until all branches are updated, some cheques will still follow the traditional paper route and timelines. Check with your branch for details.
  
• 
  
• Introducing Mobile Cheque Deposit By the end of 2018, you'll also be able to pay cheque in by taking a picture in the HSBC Mobile Banking App.
• Paperless transaction An image of a paid in cheque will be taken, this image is the form of communication banks will use to transfer cheque information between themselves, instead of the physical paper cheques previously used.
• Faster cheque clearance Sterling cheques that are imaged will clear faster than they do today.
• Access funds within 2 days This means you will be able to access your funds within two working days instead of six.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

I suppose it depends on how you get your bank the image of the cheque.

If you do it the old fashioned way; pay in the physical cheque at the branch it would take a maximum of 38 hours and 59 minutes to have funds cleared in your account, if you banked it at 9am.

Mobile cheque deposit using an app and your smartphone would be far quicker and easier though!

 

[Cowabunga]

I suppose it depends on how you get your bank the image of the cheque.

If you do it the old fashioned way; pay in the physical cheque at the branch it would take a maximum of 38 hours and 59 minutes to have funds cleared in your account, if you banked it at 9am.

Mobile cheque deposit using an app and your smartphone would be far quicker and easier though!

Let us hope that the apps will hold a photo for reference as well as room for typed details.

Could it be that we could pay people, and be paid, by sending and receiving just the image of a cheque by email? I know BACS is dead easy once a payee has been registered once, but again there should be room for logging details linked to the payment in the app. That includes payments and receipts.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Could it be that we could pay people, and be paid, by sending and receiving just the image of a cheque by email?

Cant see any reason why not. I guess we'll soon find out.