# How long for a cheque to clear



## biggerry (4 Jan 2010)

Hi, I lodged a cheque (AIB cheque) to my TSB account on December 23rd. I think it normally takes 5 "working" days for the cheque to clear.  Today, Jan 4th, the funds still aren't available to me.  According to this thread  the following days are processing days:

22 Dec
23 Dec
24 Dec
30 Dec
31 Dec
4 Jan

Should I expect the money to be available to me tomorrow?


----------



## Ciadan (4 Jan 2010)

In my recent experience it can unfortunately take up to 14 working days for a cheque to clear. :-(


----------



## Danniboo7 (4 Jan 2010)

Only four working days have passed.


----------



## Eithneangela (4 Jan 2010)

Don't we all know that the banks are a law unto themselves!!  Make the rules, break the rules - so what


----------



## mrblues (4 Jan 2010)

Also will depend greatly on what type of cheque and accounts are involved, Personal or Business will have a bearing on the clearing time. As per Ciadan i've waited over 14 days in the past to clear so i'd ring the bank tomorrow morning and ask them incase there is an issue with it and its on its way back to you!


----------



## pjmn (4 Jan 2010)

Whether the accounts are personal or business will have no bearing on the clearing cycle.

On the basis that you lodged cheque to your account on the 23rd, cleared funds should be availble to you tomorrow.  i.e. 5 working days will have elapsed.


pjmn


----------



## mrblues (4 Jan 2010)

pjmn said:


> Whether the accounts are personal or business will have no bearing on the clearing cycle.
> 
> pjmn




Sorry to disagree pjmn the current business climate and balancing periods for businesses at year end from 09 to 10 will cause delays in clearing - I frequently experience business cheques from customers not being cleared for in excess of 7 days and in some cases over 14 days due to the fact the branch is taking a decision that funds will be available within reasonable time and as such don't just return them.


----------



## mickeyg (4 Jan 2010)

Is there a similar delay for an electronic transfer of funds from a bank in the UK to a bank here or is it faster??


----------



## Mpsox (5 Jan 2010)

Timeline for this cheque is as follows
Lodged in TSB on Dec 22nd and processed by them overnight (Day 1)
Sent out by TSB to AIB on Dec 23rd (day 2) and processed by them
Under the interbank clearing rules, once AIB receive the cheque, they have until the close of business on Day 4 to make a decision as to when to bounce the cheque. On this occassion, because of the Christmas holidays, Day 4 did not occur until Dec 30th. (Note AIB can decide to unpay on day 3 if they see fit)
If AIB decided to unpay the cheque, it would take 2 days for the physical cheque and corresponding electronic to touch down with TSB
Again, because of the New Year holiday, this would not touch down with TSB until Monday Jan 4th at the latest. (day 6) TSB would process the unpaid overnight and that would show in your bank account on the morning of Day 7, ie Jan 5th

Business and personnel cheques go through the exact same process and there is no differentiation between the 2 in most banks. Foreign cheques (and I include NI £ cheques in that) will usually take longer as there is no pan European clearing system, hence those cheques get sent out, often by post, and it can take some time for funds to be sent back and the item cleared

Note, by cleared, I mean cleared for fate. Cleared for interest purposes is different and I know some banks claim that interest is backdated to day 1 or 2, however I've never done a calculation to confirm that.

In essence, if you lodge another banks cheque drawn in € and in ROI into your bank account, it could take up to 7 days for it to be cleared and funds made available


----------



## Towger (5 Jan 2010)

You also have to keep in mind that a cheque can still bounce, after being cleared!


----------



## mrblues (5 Jan 2010)

Ok so based on pjmn and Mpsox versus my personal experience of business banking in Ireland I need to go see my bank manager immediately! Thanks for info guys and apologies for the disagreement with your post pjmn but i've been banking with my current branch for 14 years and have never had a straight forward clearing time for certain customers!


----------



## demoivre (5 Jan 2010)

Towger said:


> You also have to keep in mind that a cheque can still bounce, after being cleared!



Don't you mean bounced having been allowed draw down against the lodged cheque? I have no idea what way accounts are flagged but AIB will allow me draw on a lodged cheque after close of business on the day I lodge - doesn't mean the cheque won't subsequently bounce though !


----------



## Mpsox (5 Jan 2010)

demoivre said:


> Don't you mean bounced having been allowed draw down against the lodged cheque? I have no idea what way accounts are flagged but AIB will allow me draw on a lodged cheque after close of business on the day I lodge - doesn't mean the cheque won't subsequently bounce though !


 
You're correct, by withdrawing funds before the cheque has cleared for fate, you run the risk of being overdrawn yourself if the cheque subsequently bounces as AIB would still debit you.

Banks are starting to get stricter on allowing funds to be withdrawn, it leaves them wide open to be defrauded

I should add that there are a handful of exceptions to the 7 days rule, for example, if the cheque gets "lost" or delayed in the course of clearing (and the current cold weather snap could delay things as all the banks clearing departments which process the cheques are based in Dublin and the cheques are couriered in to them overnight). However, in general, if a cheque is processed via the normal clearing and if the banks debits an unpaid to your account after 7 days, then they should really only be doing so with your permission


----------



## biggerry (5 Jan 2010)

Just to update this thread and let you know that the cheque cleared today (thankfully!!)


----------



## pjmn (5 Jan 2010)

mrblues said:


> Ok so based on pjmn and Mpsox versus my personal experience of business banking in Ireland I need to go see my bank manager immediately! Thanks for info guys and apologies for the disagreement with your post pjmn but i've been banking with my current branch for 14 years and have never had a straight forward clearing time for certain customers!



Mr Blues - no apology needed - but if someone has been telling you it takes 14 days to clear a cheque (apart from foreign cheques, which do seem to be a law unto themselves), then I'm afraid they are telling you porkies...

The clearing system isn't capable of differentiating between personal and business customers, hence why the cycle is exactly the same for both.

Best wishes for both your meeting and for 2010...


----------



## mrblues (5 Jan 2010)

pjmn said:


> Mr Blues - no apology needed - but if someone has been telling you it takes 14 days to clear a cheque (apart from foreign cheques, which do seem to be a law unto themselves), then I'm afraid they are telling you porkies...
> 
> The clearing system isn't capable of differentiating between personal and business customers, hence why the cycle is exactly the same for both.
> 
> Best wishes for both your meeting and for 2010...



Cheers @pjmn - Monday 2pm is the meeting! Same to you for 2010....


----------

