Sellers today can breathe a collective sigh of relief when receiving payment by cheque. From today any cheque will clear six days after it’s paid into a bank account and on the seventh day it can no longer bounce.
Previously cheques never really cleared and banks could reclaim funds from their customer bank accounts weeks or even months later. A cheque could never be considered “cleared” and there was no certainty of the recipient keeping the funds.
As well as the certainty that the funds are yours on the seventh day, banks will also credit interest no more than two days after the cheque is paid in, and funds will be available to withdraw from your account after no more than four days (although some banks have already implemented terms more favourable than this).
It’s great news for eBay sellers, if a buyer pays you by cheque you can ship a week later in the absolute certainty that the funds can never be reclaimed at some point in the future.
2 Responses
Hi thats great news, but is it 7 working days before it is cleared?
Hi Jade, sorry I should have made it clear, it’s known as the 2-4-6 rule. On the 2nd working day following the day you paid the cheque in you’ll get interest, on the 4th working day you can withdraw the funds and on the 6th working day it’ll be cleared and can never bounce in the future.
According to British Banking Association if you pay a cheque in on a Monday it’ll clear on Tuesday the following week 🙂