UK Cheque clearance period?

How long?

[Richie0x]

Received my first ever cheque from Google today. I live in the UK, so does anyone know how long it will take for the cheque to clear? Does it take the same time as uk cheques or a bit longer because it's from the US?

[bnhall]

Probably up to 30 days, with a hefty charge to do it as well. There are a number of threads about this, search around for details.

[trillianjedi]

I'm with HSBC in the UK.

They told me it would take up to 30 days when I first talked to them about it, but in reality they clear in 4 days.

They all have so far anyway. I get charged £7 per cheque, which is quite reasonable. It makes no difference if you wait and bank 3 at a time - you still get charged £7 per item.

TJ

[colintho]

so far with our HSBC business account its in same day

they have a scale of fees dependant upon value of cheque

£10 for cheques valued in the range of £101 - £5000

[Richie0x]

Thanks. I'm with HSBC as well so it should be ok by the sound of it. £7 is not that bad.

[beakertrail]

You can ask to pay the cheque in as foreign exchange and this will clear as cash, however if the cheque bounces then you pick up the bank charges (in addition to the £7 mentioned) and have to give the money back ;)

This is what I do when paying foreign cheques into a UK bank account. No problems at all.

[kyrkesmith]

Yeah, the way they refer to it in NatWest is Negotiation and collection. Negotiation is better really, but they won't always do it for you, it depends how much they trust you!

Negotiation is when they pay you before they actually get the money, i.e. they buy the cheque off you for the current rate. If it bounces, you get charged etc. as above.

Collection is where they send it off and you get the money when it clears (although usually this is actually you just not getting the money for 30 days).

[valley]

Barclays clears it on the day for me, but I have a long foreign business transaction history with them.

[yump]

In the UK charges vary wildly and its essential to shop around. Its obviously not an area that will attract the attentions of the consumers association because not many people use it, so the banks can levy whatever charges they want.

We've found a dollar account with 0.25% charge per transaction, where 'transaction' can be a collection of cheques. Min £9 charge. £7 a quarter maintainence fee if balance below $US2000. Cheque withdrawal free, 2% commission when $ exchanged to £.

[blaggard]

I am a uk citizen in the UK but I have a US bank account, doesn't modern technology computer orientated google not do bacs or equivalent money transfers?

Does anyone know if you can have cheques forwarded i.e in my case straight to my US bank for deposit? Or do I have to send them myself when I receive them in the UK? Still doing this is cheaper than £7 an item, and no offense but £7 on a $100 dollar cheque is about 12.2% which is outlandish charging! - for instance I would like to get 12.2% of any ad revenue my site generates.. then my cheques from google would be bigger :-)

I also only just started with adsense so no doubt after I read thru' a few more threads I may have some more questions.

[HarryM]

I have only recently joined AdSense so have not yet had a cheque to cash (unfortunately :(). But if you have an account with Lloyds I understand there are two methods. Collection where they process the cheque themselves with the originating foreign bank, which for small users is the highest charge and you have to wait for the money. The second option is cheaper and quicker where the cheque is sold off at a clearing house and you get the money in a few days. I think the fee for the latter is GBP 5.00 minimum depending on the amount.

[topr8]

with barclays the fee is not 7 pounds an item but: under 50 pounds (total) FREE or over 50 pounds then 9 pounds a transaction (any number of cheques can be bundled in the transaction)

[Graham]

Harry

I cash my cheques with LloydsTSB and have had no problems.

They clear in about 3-4 days and charge approx £8 for anything over £100 sterling.

Never heard of the two different methods you mention and have never been offered any alternatives.

Graham

[brotherhood of LAN]

I use HBOS, they take 3 days to clear the check and charge 1% or £5 for the transaction, whichever is the least. Putting in more than one check incurs the same £5 cost.

[david_uk]

I'm with the NatWest, and they charge between £5 and £10 per cheque depending on the value. I think it's £5 for up to £100, and £10 if over. Nationwide quoted me at least £20 per cheque!

Nat west started off by taking 4 weeks to clear them, now they routinely clear in 4-5 days.

[HarryM]

Graham,

As I said I have never tried it out, but the info came from my "Financial Advisor" (read salesperson) who dragged me in for a typical Lloyds 'how can we help you' interview. As I had just started AdSense I asked her about the costs and she looked it up on Lloyds on-line info. She didn't mention it, but the costs may depend on what account you have, Classic, Gold, etc. But she made clear that there were two methods, and that the Collection method was the most expensive. If you get clearance in 3-4 days presumably your cheque is traded at a clearance house.

[BenW]

I live in the UK and bank with Barclays which charges £9 per transaction. I wait until I have three cheques before banking them - making sure the cheques don't pass their three month expiry date. It takes about 3-4 days for the money to appear in my account.

[yump]

Worth looking at Citibank if you can verify a salary of £20,000-30,000 you can get a currency savings account which is free of charges. No cheques or other withdrawal facilities, but you can go to a cashpoint machine and withdraw sterling (UK) at the current exchange rate - then pay cash into your bank. Meant as a travellers account I believe. In other countries presumably you can withdraw local currency.