Paying cheque into Halifax account

strawberrylane

I know that we have at least a couple of people on here with good knowledge of the Halifax, so I would be obliged if one of them could answer this for me please.

When I pay a cheque in over the counter, I generally hand the cashier the paying-in slip and my account card which the cashier swipes. I haven't paid much attention to what the cashier then does, but at the end of the transaction I am handed my card back and a printed receipt.

What I'm interested in understanding is that if the cheque subsequently bounces and is returned unpaid to the Halifax by the other bank, how does the Halifax know at that stage which account to debit (ie. how do they identify that the funds are to be debited from my account?).

Am I right in assuming that when I pay-in the cheque, the details on the cheque (ie. account number, sort code, cheque number) are logged as part of the credit transaction on my account. If so, how is this done? Does the cashier type these details in whilst I'm standing at the desk, or does the cashier scan the cheque there and then to capture the details, or are the cheque details recorded later on in the day (perhaps linking them to my account using the paying-in slip?).

The only reason I'm asking is that I've just deposited a large cheque at the Halifax and I can't recall the cashier doing anything other than swiping my card and stuffing the cheque and paying-in slip into a box on their side of the counter.

Finally, what happens to the paying-in slips within the branch, and what do they get used for?

Thanks for any info.

King_Of_Bling

strawberrylane wrote: »

Finally, what happens to the paying-in slips within the branch, and what do they get used for?

Thanks for any info.

Your account details (from your card or manually keyed in) are printed on the back of the cheque, so if it comes back due to insufficient funds, they'll know who it belongs to. The paying-in slips are shredded.

strawberrylane

Thanks for the reply. The details used to be printed on the back of the cheque by the Halifax cashier but not any more, this is why I am asking the question as something has obviously changed (presumably with the LTSB takeover).

rb10

Next time you pay in a cheque, see what the cashier does with the paying-in slip and cheque. Both go around a little machine on the counter - this is a scanner. It not only captures a visual image of the cheque, but records the cheque number, sort code and account number of the person who wrote the cheque against your account.

As for what happens to the paying-in slip ... very little. They are simply stored, and then later destroyed.

strawberrylane

Thanks rb10. Just got back from depositing another cheque at the Halifax and yes, this time I did notice the carousel type machine that the cashier slotted the cheque and paying-in slip into. Also noticed that nothing got printed on the reverse of the cheque. Thanks for your help.