The Great British Cheque Report - Cheque and Credit Clearing ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Security measures have been greatly improved over the lasthalf-century. Since 1995, all cheque printers must be membersof the Cheque Printer Accreditation Scheme (CPAS). TheScheme is managed by the Cheque and Credit ClearingCompany and requires that all cheques, for use in Great Britain,are produced by accredited printers who must follow stringentsecurity standards.In 1996, as well as exchanging the physical paper, code lineand amount details of cheques began to be transmitted fromthe beneficiary’s bank (the collecting bank) to the payer’sbank (the paying bank) via a secure electronic network calledInter Bank Data Exchange, or IBDE.Cheques continue to be physically exchanged because thepaying bank is responsible for detecting fraud and for ensuringthat they are paying the cheque in accordance with theircustomer’s mandate - the only reliable way to do this is throughphysical examination of the cheque itself. The requirement toundertake a physical check for security purposes is the reasonwhy the cheque clearing process takes days rather than hours.The definition and use of cheques are covered by legislation,including The Bills of Exchange Act 1882, and also the ChequesActs of 1957 and 1992. The Bills of Exchange Act 1882 defines acheque as a written order from an account holder instructingtheir bank to pay a specified sum of money on demand to oneor more named beneficiaries. However cheques are not – and10The Great British Cheque Report
never have been – legal tender. Even today, no creditor is legallyobliged to accept a cheque in payment of a debt. A creditor isentitled to be paid in legal tender and may refuse to acceptpayment in any other form.cheque; a six-digit sort code that identifies the bank and branchof the account; and the seven- or eight-digit account number.Today’s chequesToday’s cheque follows strict standards in the way it is printed andthe information it contains. The writer is required to enter thename of the payee, the date, and the amount they wish to pay,together with a signature to verify the payment. The cheque alsocontains a code line. The standard information contained in thecode line of all cheques includes: the six-digit serial number,which is unique within each chequebook and identifies theThe Great British Cheque Report 11
Page 1: The GreatBritish ChequeReport
Page 9 and 10: Example of an early cheque from the
Page 11: of England joined in 1864. In more
Page 15 and 16: The 2-4-6 timescaleDaye.g. MondayTh
Page 17 and 18: 4FactIf all the cheques that went t
Page 19 and 20: The cheque has also played a big pa
Page 21 and 22: Cheques out at the checkoutThe shar
Page 23 and 24: Credit card bill payments2001 2004
Page 25 and 26: RegionPercentage of adultsregularly
Page 27 and 28: 8 Euro cheques in the UK2009 marks
Page 29 and 30: 9 International cheque usageCheque
Page 31 and 32: 0.80.60.40.20.020082009201020112012
Page 33 and 34: • Determine the rules required to

The Great British Cheque Report - Cheque and Credit Clearing ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?