How long does it take for a banks own cheque to clear?

Monokne

Hi all

I lodged a big cheque into my permanent TSB account today. The cheque itself is a Permanent TSB cheque. Someone had mentioned to me that it should clear much quicker than the usual 5 day wait time because it's their own cheque. When I lodged it, the teller told me it would take the full week.

Ordinarily I'd take her at her word but I'm sure I've had cheques clear quicker than that before, and even a quick google pulled up this article (admittedly a couple years old) which says PTSB should clear it overnight: http://www.joe.ie/life-style/cheque-clearance-thievery/8544?shortlink=1

Any ideas?

rahenyrover

All cheques through ptsb take 5 working days to clear even cheques drawn on other ptsb accounts. A number of years ago they used to clear their own cheques almost instantly but this changed a few years back.

Monokne

That is such bollocks, pardon my language. Feels somewhat ridiculous that in 2016 with all the advances in technology, we still have to wait 7 poxy days for a cheque to clear.

Thanks for the info.

Monokne

That is such bollocks, pardon my language. Feels somewhat ridiculous that in 2016 with all the advances in technology, we still have to wait 7 poxy days for a cheque to clear.

Thanks for the info.

vicwatson

That's true a pile of poo

TheChizler

Maybe it's cause it's 2016 and with all our modern advances cheque use is on the decline, and it no longer makes economic sense to put inter-PTSB cheques through separate process. Might be cheaper to send them to the traditional clearing houses in bulk than to process then internally.

rahenyrover

True but you could also argue with all the advances in technology there is no need for cheques anymore. Banks across Europe are all trying to discourage cheque usage and move to EFT so guessing that is the thinking behind this.

Edit: I see TheChizler has pretty much just made the same point.

Toots

Their own cheque will take a minimum of 3 working days to clear. The reason for this is because a cheque can still go unpaid 2 days after it debits the drawers account (ie if it's not filled in correctly, or the customer requests that it's stopped retrospectively). So even if you lodge a PTSB cheque in a PTSB account, the funds will debit the drawers account pretty much straight away, they don't know for 100% sure if the cheque is 'good' for another 2 working days. Same goes for the other banks also.

edit also that Joe.ie article is (like most of the stuff on their site) a load of crap, the bank doesn't hold on to your money in some imaginary account - the funds are in your account straight away, and if it's a savings account you'll earn interest straight away. In some cases the bank just won't let you withdraw the money until the cheque is cleared. Honestly, that article is so full of nonsense and misinformation. "Some banks have been looking at allowing customers to draw funds on a lodged cheque before it had cleared." That system has been in place for decades, usually if your account has been with the bank for a year or two and is in good standing, they won't make you wait out the clearing period on cheques. If it's a new account, or it's operating badly, then you'll have to wait for your cheque to clear before you can withdraw the funds.

Nervous Wreck

^^That.

The main points I think are:

• yes, its 2016; so banks are discouraging the use of archaic payment methods like cheques by not putting extra effort in to clear them faster.
• I wouldnt trust an article on joe.ie to tell me the day of the week, let alone give me financial advice

Monokne

This cheque was from Irish Life, so if the financial institutions are trying to discourage the use of cheques, they have a funny way of going about it.

Nervous Wreck

I said banks, not financial institutions. I'm sure Irish Life probably don't really care how long it takes for your cheque to clear, unfortunately though, as it really doesn't affect them. For the bank clearing the cheque, however, it makes much more sense to scale back the infrastructure involved in processing transactions that are outdated, cumbersome and utilised less and less.