# How long does it take a $ cheque to clear?



## Square (18 May 2004)

I lodged a $ draft to my PermTSB account May 4.  I've just checked my account and the money hasn't been lodged to my account yet.

Anybody know how long it takes for this to clear?

In the past I have lodged $ draft's in BoI and they credited my account immediately.


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## Dr Moriarty (18 May 2004)

Check it out with your branch.
No way it should have taken this long. 7-10 days absolute max.
And ask them about the exchange rate/fees & commissions...!  

Dr. M.


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## rainyday (18 May 2004)

EBS takes 6 weeks (even though the money came out of my USD account at end of week 1)! They do give the best rates though!


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## Dr Moriarty (18 May 2004)

With all respect, rainyday (tremble, tremble...  )

4 weeks seems (to me) a preposterously long delay.
These guys (read: D'Banks...) charge interest on a daily basis, when it suits them. I really can't see any justification for them sitting on this guy/gal's money for 20+ days..?

(Or am I all wrong on this?)
Dr. M.


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## rainyday (18 May 2004)

I'm not justifying it, Dr M - I'm just telling you how they do it today.


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## Square (19 May 2004)

I got a reply from the bank manager which said "...US
cheques take 30 days to clear".

I explained that these were stock options I sold and that I needed to pay the Revenue within 30 days, so the funds were made available to me.

Because the funds were made available to me, I didn't ask why BoI could credit my account immediately but PTSB needed 30 days to do this.


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## Northie (20 May 2004)

Banks really do make up their own rules at times.
My parents, two sisters and myself were fortunate to inherite some money last year from American relatives. The money was sent by US$ Cheque and we all lodged them to our accounts.

One sister had access to her money within 24 hours, I had access within 48 hrs, my parents took 7 days, and my other sister's took 30 days!!! Heck of a difference.

We all have accounts in AIB (all though at different branches)

I really have given up trying to understand any of it, all I know is that hubbie and I do all our banking in Malahide and know the staff there very well at this stage, seems to make a huge difference,

Northie


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## Max Hopper (24 May 2004)

I've moaned about the lack of personal/professional accountability in Ireland before.<!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END--><!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END-->Imagine if there was a schedule (cost and times) for various services at the bank. Hmm, no wiggle room!?! Wouldn't be Irish then (one of the 'grand' aspects of living here - cute hoorism).<!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END--><!--EZCODE BR START--><!--EZCODE BR END-->But don't take my word of the glaring omission of transparency in professional services and goods. Read on here - .


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## ainec (24 May 2004)

The reason why it takes so ling (and time varies considerably from one branch to another) is as follows:

1. Cheque arrives at irish bank to be lodged to account
2. Irish bank sends cheque back to US bank branch where the account is held
3. US bank clears the cheque and sends money to Irish bank's holding account
4. Money then transferred into Irish customers bank account.

There is no clearing system, so that's why it can be a nightmare...........


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## rainyday (24 May 2004)

Hi Aine - To me, it seems like step 4 takes an inordinate duration. In my case, the money came out of my USD account after 5 days, but EBS are still quoting 30 working days for the cheque to actually clear.


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## Denis (25 May 2004)

It really depends on your standing with your Bank. If you are an established customer or indeed keep a good profile etc. you will get instant clearance even though technically the $chq is not cleared. This also happens with euro cheques.
If you have a troublesome account or indeed if the Bank see you as a risk they will send the $chq to the US Bank before lodging it to your account in order to get guaranteed funds & hence the time delays as outlined above.


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## rainyday (25 May 2004)

I guess it also depends on the relative size of the cheque. In my case, the USD cheque I lodged in EBS was several orders of magnitude larger than my typical dealings with that institution, so I can't be surprised that they would be cagey about giving me funds until it has cleared.


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## garrettod (1 Jun 2004)

LOL    

Nice one Denis, from reading the order of the thread, looks like you've just suggested Rainyday has a bad relationship with his bank       (I'm sure this is not the case & was not your intention though  )



More seriously, 

Rainyday, did you ask the EBS to pay you interest on the funds, once they were satisfied that the cheque had cleared following the 30-day period ? .... or to provide you with documentary evidence to show when exactly, they got value for the cheque lodged ?

- I reckon you must be mad letting them off the hook on this to be honest.  I've noticed you mention you've lodged US$ cheques with them before, how come you don't just lodge the cheques to an account with a Bank ?

Regards

G>
www.Rpoints.com/newbie


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## rainyday (1 Jun 2004)

> how come you don't just lodge the cheques to an account with a Bank ?


Because the rate EBS quoted me gave me €200 more than the rate quoted by my bank.


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## garrettod (3 Jun 2004)

Hi Rainyday

Must have been a big cheque  

... in which case, I personally, would probably have been more likely to transfer it via SWIFT or something, rather than go through any discussion on waiting for the funds to clear.  

Clearing time can cost you interest in some institutions btw !

Regards

G>
www.Rpoints.com/newbie


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## chasingaimless (10 Jun 2004)

*.*

I've had the full spectrum from 6 weeks to instantaneous and it seems largely to depend on who sees your cheque first at the bank.
The source and magnitude of the cheque and your history, especially if you have had cheques clear from the same source, should be all that matter. Make a  case to your account manager for the funds to be credited to your account in 3 days and  you'll be surprised how easily they can make it happen.


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## rainyday (10 Jun 2004)

*Re: .*

I noticed a sign up in EBS recently stating that they weren't accepting non-Euro cheques any more. Pity - it was nice to have a bit of competition for my own bank....


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## garrettod (26 Jun 2004)

*Re: .*

Hi Rainyday

If your lodging large US$ cheques ... why not open an account with the likes of Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Scotland etc & get better exchange rates that those offered "over the counter" ?  


Regards


G>


* Click Here For Rpoints*


.


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## zag (26 Jun 2004)

*Re: .*

We have had clearing delays in work recently.

The silly thing is that if we lodged the USD cheque to our EUR account we would most likely get value for it immediately as we do for our other cheques, but because we lodge it to our USD account (which doesn't have a lot of transactions) we have sometimes found that it takes a few weeks.

Last time this happened I got on to our manager person and said we needed to write EUR cheques against it and he gave us value immediately.

As above, depends on who processes it in the bank.  I presume they have to enter a value date for the transaction.  If the person doesn't know you from Adam (or Eve) then I guess the default date goes in, whereas if they know you and know you don't bounce cheques on them they may be more likely to give you value immediately.

z


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## rainyday (26 Jun 2004)

*Re: .*



> If your lodging large US$ cheques ... why not open an account with the likes of Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Scotland etc & get better exchange rates that those offered "over the counter" ?


It wouldn't be all that frequent - once every 2-3 years maybe, and usually for 4-figure amounts. Hardly worth opening a new account - is it?


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## garrettod (27 Jun 2004)

*Re: .*

Hi Rainyday

I don't see how opening a new account, with limited transactions is going to cost you much, other than perhaps a little time & given your previous referances to concerns about achieving better exchange rates, can't see why you would not be willing to myself ?

Still, each to their own I guess  

Regards


G>


* Click Here For Rpoints*


.


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## rainyday (27 Jun 2004)

*Re: .*

Hi G - Would I need to maintain a minimum balance at either of these institutions?


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## garrettod (29 Jun 2004)

*Re: .*

Hi

Can't say for sure, but I doubt it would be very much if anything.  To the best of my knowledge, they would use a demand deposit account, which may have a minimum opening balance, but not a minimum balance to keep it open.

Regards

G>

* Click Here For Rpoints*

.


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## rainyday (29 Jun 2004)

*Re: .*

Hi G - Anglo confirmed they have a minimum balance of $2k and a 'wide spread' on their USD/EUR FX rates, so I don't think that will be much use to me. Awaiting response from BOS now.


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