Clearing Cheques - Irish Banks

Boca

just been to my local branch to lodge a cheque and was told that it takes 5 working days to clear

:eek: 5 DAYS! what an absolute disgrace

In many countries it takes 2, 3 is considered average, so can someone tell me how this is justified in this day and age?

Is this the norm across all Irish banks?

GerardKeating

Boca wrote: »

just been to my local branch to lodge a cheque and was told that it takes 5 working days to clear

:eek: 5 DAYS! what an absolute disgrace

In many countries it takes 2, 3 is considered average, so can someone tell me how this is justified in this day and age?

Is this the norm across all Irish banks?

Depends on which Bank the cheque is issued.

Some of the "delay" is for fraud prevention.

Boca

GerardKeating wrote: »

Depends on which Bank the cheque is issued.

Some of the "delay" is for fraud prevention.

so why can most countries process cheques in roughly HALF the time?

is it perhaps anything to do with the interest that the banks earn from ALL those cheques - an extra couple of days interest must really add up when you've got thousands of euro worth in 'uncleared funds' rather than in Clients accounts?

or are the banks here extra diligent when it comes to fraud :rolleyes:

adox

If I lodge a cheque into my account, it clears on the same day.
Its been like that for years after I requested a quicker clearance on my account.

Tar.Aldarion

Say it is for work, they clear it same day then for me.

IamBeowulf

POSTBANK takes 10 DAYS!!!

What are the other banks like?

I'm in the same boat, I've ben told 5 - 7 days for a cheque from the same branch, but yet my account is showing the money :mad:

KillerShamrock

Cheques take 3 to 5 working days to clear not including the day you lodge it. 3 days if its the same bank ie. BOI cheque into BOI account, 5 if different bank ie. Aib cheque to BOI account.

They show up on your account the day you lodge them and it is possible to take the money out straight away usually depending on how old your account is and how well its been operated.

Now if you draw on a cheque that is uncleared you could be charged interest on drawing on unclear funds. Also if the cheque is returned unpaid or 'bounce' you are liable for any funds of the cheque which you have taken out

Saying the cheque is from work, family member or 'requesting a quicker clearing time' will make no difference to the clearing time. Its all down to your account.

Blackjack

article on this in mondays' Irish Times

Richie6904

Richie6904 wrote: »

Cheques take 3 to 5 working days to clear not including the day you lodge it. 3 days if its the same bank ie. BOI cheque into BOI account, 5 if different bank ie. Aib cheque to BOI account.

They show up on your account the day you lodge them and it is possible to take the money out straight away usually depending on how old your account is and how well its been operated.

I'm with BOI and the cheque is BOI, so why it will take 5-7 days is beyond me. The money shows up in my account but I can't take any of it out.

stepbar

In this day and age employers should be using online banking to pay for goods and services. Why there's still a high usage of chq's is beyond me. Chq's are not the most reliable payment method out there.

Toots

hellboy99 wrote: »

I'm with BOI and the cheque is BOI, so why it will take 5-7 days is beyond me. The money shows up in my account but I can't take any of it out.

I think the staff member may have misinformed you here. BOI cheques lodged to BOI accounts take 3 working days to clear.

Toots85

Toots85 wrote: »

I think the staff member may have misinformed you here. BOI cheques lodged to BOI accounts take 3 working days to clear.

That's what I thought, money should of been available in my account today, brought the cheque into the bank first thing Thursday morning. Contacted the bank today and was told Firday or Monday.

Toots

hellboy99 wrote: »

That's what I thought, money should of been available in my account today, brought the cheque into the bank first thing Thursday morning. Contacted the bank today and was told Firday or Monday.

What?? As in friday 25th?? That's mental!! It wasn't a BOI northern Ireland cheque or anything weird like that?

Toots85

Toots85 wrote: »

What?? As in friday 25th?? That's mental!! It wasn't a BOI northern Ireland cheque or anything weird like that?

Yes, the 25th, it's a southern BOI cheque and the account from which the money will be coming from is with the same branch I'm with, so go figure

Toots

Hmmm, I see your location is Louth. Is the branch that you lodged it in louth? I think I might know which one you're talking about. That's a mad amount of time. Have u tried taking out the money at an ATM?

stepbar

Maybe it's time to start asking questions of your employer. Chq could have bounced. It can take time to take back the money from your account when there's 10 million of them to do..... Remember you're not the only customer in that branch so be patient.

Toots85

Toots85 wrote: »

Hmmm, I see your location is Louth. Is the branch that you lodged it in louth? I think I might know which one you're talking about. That's a mad amount of time. Have u tried taking out the money at an ATM?

It is, so is it a good thing or a bad thing you know which branch. As for trying the ATM, no joy there.

stepbar wrote: »

Maybe it's time to start asking questions of your employer. Chq could have bounced.

No question what so ever that the cheque would bounce.

bookiebasher

Hello all...I was lucky to win some money from an english bookmaking firm 2 weeks ago and lodged the cheque (which arrived promptly) in AIB in Maynooth.After waiting in a queue for 30 minutes (2 girls on and about 20 people waiting to do business)I was told i would have to lodge them in my local bank(I work in maynooth).
Having been annoyed from waiting so long I told her that i could not accept this as im trying to lodge money not take it out and what was the problem..She them passed it on to another girl who said i could lodge the cheque but i would have to pay 17 euro of a fee due to it being a sterling euro cheque.This also annoyed me but hey i didnt want the hassle of waiting in my home town until 10 o clock to lodge the cheque when i should be in work
Here i am 8 days later and the money has still not hit my account which is a disgrace.
What the country needs is competition in the banking sector as 8 days is not good enough in this day and age....rant over

My cheque still hasn't cleared, the banks must be making a lot of interest :mad:

stepbar

bookiebasher wrote: »

Hello all...I was lucky to win some money from an english bookmaking firm 2 weeks ago and lodged the cheque (which arrived promptly) in AIB in Maynooth.After waiting in a queue for 30 minutes (2 girls on and about 20 people waiting to do business)I was told i would have to lodge them in my local bank(I work in maynooth).
Having been annoyed from waiting so long I told her that i could not accept this as im trying to lodge money not take it out and what was the problem..She them passed it on to another girl who said i could lodge the cheque but i would have to pay 17 euro of a fee due to it being a sterling euro cheque.This also annoyed me but hey i didnt want the hassle of waiting in my home town until 10 o clock to lodge the cheque when i should be in work
Here i am 8 days later and the money has still not hit my account which is a disgrace.
What the country needs is competition in the banking sector as 8 days is not good enough in this day and age....rant over

The chq is a sterling chq and must be cleared through the UK. This can take anything up to 10 working days. What do you expect TBH?

In fairness the chq should have be taken from you and sent to your branch for collection.

5 days gone, 6 if you include the day I left my cheque in and still no money.

Ghostrider1

There is no reason why a cheque can on clear the next day it is lodged (assuming lodged in the morning ).if the cheque is issued and lodged to one of teh central clearing banks. This is a daily settlement between banks in this system (This is what the bar code at the bottom of a cheque is for. When a bank does not credit your account for 5-7 days they are in fact stealing your money (or at the very lease having the money like Fr Ted "resting in their account" )
The same thing happens when you made a electronic payment via internet or phone banking. Your account is debited instantly but the receiving account does not get credit for 2 days (perhaps 5 if there is a weekend).With the Swift payments system after a instruction is given it is received instantly by the receiving bank. So where is this money for 5 days. Its in a interbank account with all the other payments the bank is "resting" earning the interbank interest rate for the bank.
The financial regulator should investigate this practice , but the will not as for 1 the banks pay via the Regulators levy for the jokers down in Dame street and second these guys have not got the wit to know what goes on in financial markets

KillerShamrock

Jesus banks are not like burger king its not have it your way.
A lot of the rules are set out by the government, EU and regulators.
When a cheque is lodged to your account the funds go straight in they just dont clear until 3 to 5 WORKING days, its anti fraud and to ensure the person who gave you the cheque has the money to honor it, also to protect the person who lodges the cheque. Cheques from different countries can take considerably longer

Wheather you can access these funds straight away or not has to do with you account and also your bank. If the funds dont show up 2 days after you lodged it, its possible there is a problem contact your branch or where you lodged it and find out or wait to be contacted

A bank cannot take a customers cheque and lodge it into one of their own accounts because if the cheque was due in a savings account then the customer is losing interest. If it was to go to a loan or clear an overdraft then the customer will be charged more interest than they should and the bank could be held liable as far as im aware.

Its not one big conspiricy its procedure and the banks must follow them. If you dont like it avoid cheques or just get cash and stuff it under your bed and hope its safe there

stepbar

Jeez people have a fierce stinking attidute of banks.

At the end of the day if you accept a chq be prepared for the time it takes to clear. If you seen the amount of fraud atttempted on chq's you might have a different opinion.

If it bothers you ask for an alternative payment. Simple as.

dotsman

stepbar wrote: »

Jeez people have a fierce stinking attidute of banks.

At the end of the day if you accept a chq be prepared for the time it takes to clear. If you seen the amount of fraud atttempted on chq's you might have a different opinion.

If it bothers you ask for an alternative payment. Simple as.

I agree!

It's got nothing to do with the state of banks in Ireland as there are the same, if not longer delays, in other countries. The fact of the matter is that the concept of cheques is an antiquated one. There is an alternative - Laser and EFT. Both these systems are much cheaper for the customer, more secure and are far more efficient/flexible.

The problem is not the banks, it's with the people/businesses who insist on using this outdated technology. Cheques are to be withdrawn as legal tender in the near future, but I don't think there has been an official date set yet for Ireland. Ultimately, it all depends on how long it takes for cheques to stop being used as mainstream payment methods beforethey can withdraw them.

Some Irish banks (such as AIB/BOI) should be commended for their attempts at social engineering by encouraging customers to explore the more modern ways of payment (cheaper, faster, secure, flexible) by making it a condition of free banking that you use these methods at least once per quarter. The fact of the matter is that as soon as a person realises how much better the modern methods are, they never go back to the ridiculoous concept of cheques.

Toots

I actually rang the procedure support centre today just to get some info on why the cheques take the time they do to clear.


They informed me that in the case of cheques drawn on the same bank in which they are lodged, the procedure is this:

Day 1: Cheque is lodged by payee. Drawer's account is debited.
Day 2: Cheque has been debited from drawers account, but can still be returned unpaid if 1.The drawer requests the cheque be stopped
(this can be done the day after the cheque has been debited) or 2.the cheque is out of date, not signed, post dated, incomplete.
This can be discovered when the cheque goes through clearing on day 2.
Day 3: Cheque is cleared in payee's account.




In the case of the cheque being drawn on another bank ie: AIB cheque lodged to BOI account, it goes:

Day 1: Cheque is lodged by payee. Debit is sent through clearing to other bank.
Day 2: Debit reaches other bank, and is sent through to drawer account.
Day 3: Providing there are sufficient funds in the drawer's account, the cheque is debited, but can still be returned unpaid if 1.The drawer requests the cheque be stopped, or 2.the cheque is out of date, not signed, post dated, incomplete.
Day 4: Cheque has been debited from drawers account, but can still be returned unpaid if 1.The drawer requests the cheque be stopped (this can be done the day after the cheque has been debited) or 2.the cheque is out of date, not signed, post dated, incomplete.This can be discovered when the cheque goes through clearing on day 4.
Day 5: Funds are cleared in payee's account.




Hope this clears things up a bit (no pun intended).

TBH, most employers should really pay the wages by EFT or online banking. Not only is it quicker, but it is cheaper (gov duty of 30c per cheque saved), and more secure. There's a huge proportion of fraud carried out by altering cheques. In addition, the funds go into the employees account instantly cleared, making it easier for them too.

stepbar

Toots85 wrote: »

I actually rang the procedure support centre today just to get some info on why the cheques take the time they do to clear.


They informed me that in the case of cheques drawn on the same bank in which they are lodged, the procedure is this:

Day 1: Cheque is lodged by payee. Drawer's account is debited.
Day 2: Cheque has been debited from drawers account, but can still be returned unpaid if 1.The drawer requests the cheque be stopped
(this can be done the day after the cheque has been debited) or 2.the cheque is out of date, not signed, post dated, incomplete.
This can be discovered when the cheque goes through clearing on day 2.
Day 3: Cheque is cleared in payee's account.




In the case of the cheque being drawn on another bank ie: AIB cheque lodged to BOI account, it goes:

Day 1: Cheque is lodged by payee. Debit is sent through clearing to other bank.
Day 2: Debit reaches other bank, and is sent through to drawer account.
Day 3: Providing there are sufficient funds in the drawer's account, the cheque is debited, but can still be returned unpaid if 1.The drawer requests the cheque be stopped, or 2.the cheque is out of date, not signed, post dated, incomplete.
Day 4: Cheque has been debited from drawers account, but can still be returned unpaid if 1.The drawer requests the cheque be stopped (this can be done the day after the cheque has been debited) or 2.the cheque is out of date, not signed, post dated, incomplete.This can be discovered when the cheque goes through clearing on day 4.
Day 5: Funds are cleared in payee's account.




Hope this clears things up a bit (no pun intended).

TBH, most employers should really pay the wages by EFT or online banking. Not only is it quicker, but it is cheaper (gov duty of 30c per cheque saved), and more secure. There's a huge proportion of fraud carried out by altering cheques. In addition, the funds go into the employees account instantly cleared, making it easier for them too.

Procedure support know everything!!. I'd be lost without them sometimes. Fair play for going to the bother of getting an explanation because I woudn't have bothered. Some people will moan anyhow regardless. "They're robbing our money!!!!" Ugggg

Toots

Yup, gotta say they're the business! The only thing I forgot to ask them is if the bank actually makes any money on the clearing process. I know people say that they earn interest while the cheque is clearing, but if it's in the customer's account, I'm not sure how it works.

stepbar

Toots85 wrote: »

Yup, gotta say they're the business! The only thing I forgot to ask them is if the bank actually makes any money on the clearing process. I know people say that they earn interest while the cheque is clearing, but if it's in the customer's account, I'm not sure how it works.

You should be able to find out by looking at the transaction history. I would hazard a guess that they do.