Banks and depositing cheques/cash

[Dilbertian]

Our bank is closing its branch in our town. What do we do when we want to make a deposit? Is it possible to do it via a different bank? Or are we going to have to either open a new account with a bank that still has a branch in our town, or drive to the next town every time we want to deposit money?

Post office usually works with banks to accept credits on their behalf, but they can be slightly slower.

Other banks may accept but unless you also hold an account with them they may charge a fee.

Post cheques to your bank, they will have a processing centre.

You can pay cheques in online

@RandomUsernameHere

You can pay cheques in online

You can do this?

Presumably you then have to post them?

What about cash?

No you don't have to post them as well. You just scan and upload to your banking app and the job's done. But it would be easier just to get people paying you to pay directly to your bank account by BACS or form of transfer.

I pay in dozens of cheques online. So if I receive one in the post on Monday at 11am, I immediately deposit it by phone (the app takes a photo of the cheque), type in the reference and the funds clear by 7pm on the Tuesday.

There is no need for high st banks these days except for elderly customers who can’t or won’t use the tech (and I suppose shops taking cash, but when’s the last time you paid by anything but a card/Apple pay?

I paid in a cheque for the first time online last week. The bank app takes you through it, just need to scan with your phone camera.

You can pay cheques in online
You can with most banks but not Natwest

@Kazzyhoward

No you don't have to post them as well. You just scan and upload to your banking app and the job's done. But it would be easier just to get people paying you to pay directly to your bank account by BACS or form of transfer.

Ok so I was exactly today years old when I learnt this 😲

Not all banks have the option to upload cheques online but you can use the post office.

@Kazzyhoward

No you don't have to post them as well. You just scan and upload to your banking app and the job's done. But it would be easier just to get people paying you to pay directly to your bank account by BACS or form of transfer.

Your banking app might do this but not all of them do. I can't see that the OP has said which bank it is but maybe Santander as they have announced bank closures this week and they don't currently have this function on their app

If you get a lot of cheques and don't have the Post Office option you might need to change banks.

The only cheques I get are for my DC for their birthdays, and while my bank accepts online cheques for my account, it doesn’t for theirs. I wonder if this would also be an issue at the post office, as their accounts are tagged onto mine.

Where are you getting the cash / cheques that you need to deposit? Are you running a business? Can you ask your customers to pay by bank transfer instead or get a card machine (they're really not expensive these days: look at PayPal Here / iZettle / SumUp / Square... to name a few. Typically you pay less than £50 for the machine and a small percentage per transaction).
If it's personal funds (? birthdays) can you explain to the giver that you no longer have a local bank branch so would they be willing to pay by bank transfer / PayPal etc.

If neither of the above apply, the Post Office will accept most banks' cheques on their behalf (add an extra day or two processing time) and many banking apps have a cheque deposit facility where you scan the cheque using your smartphone's camera.

Post Office or banking apps.

I'm self employed and get paid by cash or rarely, cheque. I'm at the post office weekly

You can pay cheques in online
You can with most banks but not Natwest

Not Monzo either. Which considering they’re an online bank is just bizarre.

Oh my god! I never knew this, received a cheque yesterday and just scanned it in my app, amazing!

HSBC let you do this but last time I checked there was a cap on it (up to £500 I think) - anything over you had to take it in. May have changed though.

Santander don't do this, sadly. We opened the account with them because we had a nearby branch. Not any more, it seems. We can pay in through the post office though. Doesn't happen very often these days anyway.

Banking apps are brilliant for paying cheques in. I don't know how it all works-my friend paid one in using her App not noticing it was payable to her maiden name. She got a letter saying it had been refused and her account debited a few days later.

I can pay cheques in online with Bank Of Scotland but not Nationwide. Lots of banks let you use the post office but some need you to use a preprinted paying in slip that you'd need to get from your bank first

Yes, it is Santander. Fortunately we still have a Post Office.

Ds just asked me if I had a tenner which I would swap for his £10-worth of loose change so that he could deposit it in his account!

I just stick all loose change in the self service tills at Morrisons/Tesco.

Our post office and bank have closed permanently. I tried to deposit a cheque online but it wasn't a standard size so couldn't do. Had to do a 30 mile round trip. Now need a posted statement for ID. ,Have rang the bank but they haven't sent it, so looks like another drive!

@Sparklingbrook me too! Use up all the shrapnel that way!

Tgg he r post office acts as a bank you can withdraw and deposit cash using your bank card. It’s instantly updated as well. I don’t think my bank dues the electronic cheque process but should check as well get cheques occasionally.

@Dilbertian

Yes, it is Santander. Fortunately we still have a Post Office.

Ds just asked me if I had a tenner which I would swap for his £10-worth of loose change so that he could deposit it in his account!

Cash deposits at a post office are easy. Just put your debit card in their chip and pin machine, give them the cash and it's in your bank account instantly.