Cheque Clearing Process
Information relating to the clearing process of cheques issued in the UK.
Banks in the UK use the Next Business Day cheque clearing cycle for sterling cheques issued in the UK. The UK cheque clearing system exchanges scanned digital images of cheques. You should anticipate money from cheques you write leaving your account on the next Business Day; and money being cleared from cheques you deposit on the next Business Day. You should always ensure you have sufficient funds in your account prior to issuing a cheque.
This is how the cheque clearing cycle works for a Sterling Cheque paid into a Sterling account
*Subject to post payment fraud measures.
These timescales are industry guidelines. Interest calculations and the availability of funds may be earlier in certain circumstances.
Cheques paid in at a branch after 17:00 on a Business Day or any day which is not a Business Day may not begin to be processed until the next Business Day. Some branches have an earlier cut-off than 17:00. A notice will be displayed in such branches which will specify the earlier cut-off time. Cheques paid in via alternate methods than a branch will have different cut-off times. Please refer to the specific Terms and Conditions for that method of deposit for more details.