Paying in a large paper cheque.

surrender_in_pity

Can anyone advise the best way to pay a large cheque into a bank, an amount over 50k.
In terms of Identity for clearance etc.


Should I take additional ID, should I phone ahead to save any clearance delays? I bank with Natwest and Santander, is either of these preferable for large cheques or anyone have bad experiences of these they can share.


A useful money saving guide would be handy.


Thank you I love you.

Robin9

You may be asked where it comes from - have you a covering letter ?

Or if your bank has an automatic scanning arrangement use that rather than over the counter with a paying in slip.

Uxb1

I had to do the same a while back for a solicitor's cheque.
It was proceeds from a will
I too took several precautions of taking along my ID, and the grant of probate copy which had me as executor.

Solicitor advised paying it in at the counter and ensuring I got a receipt so any "problems or questions" at that stage can be sorted out there and then and he specifically advised against using any self scanning tills.

As it was I only got a mild question about its source
Answer was 1. cheque was from a solicitor and 2. it was will proceeds - which I'm sure was all noted down in the cashiers drop down boxes on their computer.
Entered in debit card and pin on cashiers device to confirm who I was and which account it was going in I guess also acted as an ID check.
Receipt printed out - which I checked carefully there and then.
Waiting until it had gone through the full clearance cycle - was then a week and a day and then signed and sent back solicitors receipt document saying I had received the money to them.

Personally I'd use one of the old main stream clearing banks for large cheques - so I'd choose N.West over Santander in your example though I don;t personally have experience of either.

surrender_in_pity

Proceeds from a House sale

Ergates

Take in some extra ID (e.g. proof of address and password) - it may or may not be needed, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.

Likewise, phoning in ahead won't hurt. It'd be a pain if you had to do it every time you went it, but it's not like you'll be doing this frequently.

colsten

Robin9 wrote: »

Or if your bank has an automatic scanning arrangement use that rather than over the counter with a paying in slip.

Scan machines usually only accept limited amounts. As do mobile app deposit. Not sure why.

Mobile app limits appear to be £500, in-branch deposit machines £2,000. Anything over you have to use the counter. I suppose you could also post the check with a paying-in slip but whatever the deposit method, you won't escape AML checks, whether you notice them or not.

colsten

surrender_in_pity wrote: »

Proceeds from a House sale

How come this wasn't processed electronically through a Solicitor?

DE_612183

I thought you meant one of those cheque you get given when you have your photo taken for the local paper!

Yes, large sums are usually subject to anti-money laundering checks, so be prepared for ID and questions.

Should be fine though.

Uxb1

colsten wrote: »

How come this wasn't processed electronically through a Solicitor?

bizarrely solicitors now prefer to go back to cheques:
1 They have to pay for large transfers - CHAPS fees, while cheques are free.
2. They don't have to go through the rigmarole of getting a copy of your recent bank statement from you to confirm and satisfy themselves that the account/sort number you gave is correct, and get someone to double check they have entered it up right on their screen.

I was given the option of either a cheque virtually there and there on the spot or a CHAPS plus their admin fee to be deducted from it if it was going to be by bank transfer - plus I needed to get a copy of a recent bank statement.

So its a no brainer as they say - back to cheques!

fwor

I paid in a high value cheque (more than twice the value in the OP) last week using the in-branch machine at my local Santander. I needed no extra ID, and the only extra step was that it asked me to type in the cheque's value (apparently with lower value cheques it doesn't).


There were no issues at all, and it cleared 2 days later.

robatwork

Uxb1 wrote: »

I was given the option of either a cheque virtually there and there on the spot or a CHAPS plus their admin fee to be deducted from it if it was going to be by bank transfer - plus I needed to get a copy of a recent bank statement.

So its a no brainer as they say - back to cheques!

And I'd always go for CHAPS.

There have been several threads in this very forum where a cheque turned out to be fraudulent and the money clawed back *months* after it was paid in.

I admit it is unlikely this would happen with a solicitor's cheque, but solicitors have been involved with fraud in the past and also gone out of business, so CHAPS has to be safer. You're talking about £25 for tens of thousands of pounds so an insignificant percentage; I would suggest the MSE way is to be as sure as you can be the money is yours in this case.