Cash ISA transfer - transferred as a cheque?

soulsaver

I've transferred (and closed) a £60K cash ISA recently and the provider confirms it was sent as a cheque. The cheque hasn't yet arrived at the new (S&S) ISA provider.
  
I know Covid is adversely affecting Royal Mail deliveries so, to me, electronic transfer would seem a safer and more logical method of transfer. 

Is there rules around how a ISAs should be transferred or is it determined by the providers policy?

If the latter, what could be the rationale in the current circumstances for sticking to less efficient transfer policy particularly in the current climate?

eta Spacing - about time mse did something to sort.

masonic

Yes there are rules around how ISAs are transferred, and those rules make it harder for providers to use electronic transfers. There is no single standard for electronic ISA transfers, but there are at least two major systems that each have a number of significant members, each of which can process electronic transfers between one another. The key is that the money and associated paperwork should be transferred together - one way to do this is with a linked IT system both providers can access, another is by enclosing cheque and paperwork in the same envelope in the post.