How long for a cheque to clear?

blue5000

Anyone been talking to a bank lately? Getting varying reports of 0 to 5 days to clear a cheque. Can anyone shed some light on this, as it is getting difficult to know when I actually get paid, and can use the money. If this keeps up cash is going to be the only way to get paid in future.

colrow

I reckon they are being "Creative", I work away from home, and last time I was back here I transferred 3k from my business account into my personal account for expenses, when I tried to pay some bills online, the cash wasn't there, I rang the bank and they said it takes 5 days for it to appear in my account, unless I ask for it to be immeadiatley available, the accounts are in the same branch !!!

bob charles

Pre clearance ??;)

Internet banking
Same bank transfers are immediate
Inter bank transfers are max 3 days

Do allot of business via net nowadays with suppliers/contractors etc im regularly dealing with. takes the hassle out of it and also a reduced costs of the transfer fee and postage stamp

blue5000

colrow wrote: »

I reckon they are being "Creative", !!!

Thanks for replies, by 'creative' do you think they are trying to extract extra profits by holding on to 'our' money for 5 days so that they can extract a profit in referral charges, interest etc?

colrow

Yes exactly that, similar to firms not paying untill the very last minute, in the crowd I work for, we might need some equipment, only to find that supplier has frozen the account, until the finance department pays up, it creates bad impressions with customers, when we have to go to and buy stuff using our credit cards.

bluebell76

Took 7 working days for a bank draft to clear my account. it was from the same bank (not branch) that I have my a/c I thought a bank draft was the same as cash???

Username John

Took 5 days for a cheque to clear in my account - cheque was deposited before 13.00 then this counts as day 1. So in my case I lodged cheque last Monday before lunch, and it was cleared Friday evening...

I rang em and asked em, cos I thought cheques used to clear in 3 days, but they said it takes 5 days...

whelan1

i am with ulster bank and 3 days is what it takes if its not the same bank... if its the same bank its clear straight away.. i think every branch/bank differs

Galtee

I think the key is in the terminology used at the counter, ie if you have a cheque that is issued on an A/C in branch A and you then walk into branch A and ask the clerk to lodge it to your A/C (which is the same Bank but not Branch) it can take up to 5 days to clear. But because you are in the same Branch that the cheque was issued from you SHOULD (at least you used to be) be able to ask the clerk to clear it into your account whereby the transfer would happen almost immediately or at least as long as it takes for the systems they are using to carry out the transaction.

st1979

I never have to wait for money to clear. And i am always into overdraft and near limit. I'm with aib

pakalasa

colrow wrote: »

Yes exactly that, similar to firms not paying untill the very last minute, in the crowd I work for, we might need some equipment, only to find that supplier has frozen the account, until the finance department pays up, it creates bad impressions with customers, when we have to go to and buy stuff using our credit cards.

We must work for the same company.
Every one is at that now. It's becauce of the excess of credit in the whole financial system. It hasn't worked it's way out yet. Everybody seems to owe everybody else, an endless chain.

charityboy

question , how long does it take a cheque to clear answer , not as long as it takes some people to write them

49801

checks can bounce after even if you can see the lodgement in your account.
so just because you see it lodged does not mean it has 'cleared'
this has happened to me!

its possible to end up in a situation where you lodge a cheque and make a payment on its strength. you then end up in an unanticipated overdraft with charges etc. .

your bank can advise you more but i believe the 5day rule applies.

jay gatsby

49801 wrote: »

checks can bounce after even if you can see the lodgement in your account.
so just because you see it lodged does not mean it has 'cleared'
this has happened to me!

its possible to end up in a situation where you lodge a cheque and make a payment on its strength. you then end up in an unanticipated overdraft with charges etc. .

your bank can advise you more but i believe the 5day rule applies.

yeah a dodgy cheque can definitely appear to have been lodged and can then bounce after. there are several scams out there at the moment using this premise.

Also a couple of years ago the speed that stuff cleared on your account depended on whether your account was CJA approved. If not, stuff took longer but not sure if this still applies.

whelan1

another cheque question , i give my accountant a cheque towards his fees most months , now i wouldnt even be home and the cheque would be gone out of my account , how is this

reilig

I'm with BOI. If I lodge a cheque into my account using my pass card at the counter, it will go in immediately. It doesn't matter what bank the cheque is from - I've even done it with a cheque from the USA.

49801

reilig wrote: »

I'm with BOI. If I lodge a cheque into my account using my pass card at the counter, it will go in immediately. It doesn't matter what bank the cheque is from - I've even done it with a cheque from the USA.

yes it will go in immediately but it will not be 'cleared'

IBAN numbers and wiring is the way forward.

nager

I have accounts with both AIB & BOI.
With AIB I can draw against cheques straight away - even BOI checks.
BOI - it takes the full five days - even if it is a BOI cheque - go figure.

As an aside - the banks are losing money on cheques, so they are tring to get people to switch online. Saves them a fortune.

I was spekaing to a guy who used to work in BOI. He told me that at the moment if you make an international bank transfer online, it gets printed off in Dublin, faxed around the world and by the time it arrives in the bank account in say Australia - it might have printed out and inputted 4-5 times. Honestly - there is no automated system for international payments.

blue5000

whelan1 wrote: »

another cheque question , i give my accountant a cheque towards his fees most months , now i wouldnt even be home and the cheque would be gone out of my account , how is this

The accountant probably banks at the same branch as you.

bob charles

whelan1 wrote: »

another cheque question , i give my accountant a cheque towards his fees most months , now i wouldnt even be home and the cheque would be gone out of my account , how is this

How much are you paying your accountant if your giving him a cheque most months. I had my accountant nearly crying and saying that my accounts weren't worth his while doing as I have him down to a good price.

Username John

bob charles wrote: »

I had my accountant nearly crying and saying that my accounts weren't worth his while doing as I have him down to a good price.

I'm all for a good deal, and am sure it was still worth his while doing them
But I think you should pay a fair price too...

whelan1

bob charles wrote: »

How much are you paying your accountant if your giving him a cheque most months. I had my accountant nearly crying and saying that my accounts weren't worth his while doing as I have him down to a good price.

2k:rolleyes: now i know you will say i get them done for a lot less but i had an audit - artly accountants fault, also they do all wage slips etc, neighbour pays 3000 and has no one working for him and would have very straight forward accounts