Take a picture of a cheque and have it cleared in just 24 hours

MILLIoNS of bank customers will no longer have to wait a week for a cheque to clear – and instead will be able to pay them in within 24 hours.

At present, cheques take six working days to process because they need to be physically moved around the country before money is transferred.

But a new digital system is being launched by the Cheque & Credit Clearing Company (C&CCC) which will mean the cash is in a customer’s account after just one working day.

The new scanning system will even allow customers to take a picture of a cheque on their phone and send it to the bank instead of going in person.

Although cheque use is declining, they are still a hugely popular way of exchang- ing funds. Around 477million were used for payments and to acquire cash in 2016, with an average value of £293 for consumer transactions. In 1990, 4billion cheques were written.

About two-thirds of people over 65 still write cheques, whereas they are never used by 88 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds.

C&CCC boss James radford said: ‘These changes will put cheques firmly in the 21st century’.

When a cheque is deposited at a bank now, its details are registered and a line usually appears on the customer’s statement showing the funds are being processed. Cheques are rounded up at each branch, sent to a sorting office, shipped to an exchange centre, and then collected by the recipient’s bank.

The funds can be withdrawn on day four but there is still a chance the cheque could bounce until day six.

The new system makes this process far simpler. Banks will be able to scan each cheque and send an electronic image to the payee’s bank, rather than delivering the paper copy.

It will also allow customers to take a photograph of a cheque and send it to their bank using a secure app on their phone, rather than going into a branch.

The new system will be available in some banks and building societies this october and will be offered everywhere in the second half of 2018.