Cheques

Any cheque that's paid into your account in UK pounds goes through a 'clearing cycle'. The clearing cycle affects when the money gets to you. And when you start earning interest.

Where to send your cheques

To pay a cheque into your account, you need to complete a paying-in-slip. Send both the cheque and the slip in either a pre-paid envelope or your own, to:

CAPB Processing Centre
PO Box 12665
Harlow
CM20 9QP

If you have any foreign currency cheques, please sign the back of the cheque. Then on the back write down the sort code and account number of the account you want the cheque to go into. Please make a copy of the cheque for your own records, then post the original to:

Santander UK
Payments Team
PO Box 13220
Foreign Cheques
Harlow
Essex
CM20 9UF

Please scroll down for further detailed information about depositing foreign cheques.

Depositing cheques

When we get a cheque we'll take a digital picture of it, known as 'cheque imaging'. If you pay a cheque into your account on a working day, you'll be able to get that money or start earning interest on the next working day. Working days are Monday to Friday.

Cheques paid in UK pounds will follow the timescales we've shown below. These timescales will start on the day we receive it in the post.

Day cheque (in pounds) received	Day we allow you to withdraw money, interest is earned and you can be sure the money is yours
Monday	Tuesday
Tuesday	Wednesday
Wednesday	Thursday
Thursday	Friday
Friday	Monday

Under this clearing system cheques will be paid in and cleared using an image of the cheque. So, if you want a copy of the cheque, we'll only be able to give you a copy of the imaged cheque. If you're paying in a cheque and it's returned unpaid, we won't be able to send the cheque back to you. We can't re-present it, and you'll need to contact the person who sent you the cheque to request alternative payment.

Writing and paying in cheques

If you want to send a cheque, it's important to make sure you have enough funds in your account to cover it.

If you're writing a cheque to another person and the cheque is not paid, other banks may represent the cheque more than once. If the cheque isn't paid after this, you may be contacted to make the payment by alternative means.

Depositing foreign currency cheques

Cheques can become uneconomical to clear as some countries add an extra charge for the clearance of a foreign cheque. If the cheque is uneconomical to clear, we'll send it back to you, so you can arrange another method of payment.

If you want to pay in a cheque that is not in UK pounds, please send it to us at:

Santander UK
Payments Team
PO Box 13220
Foreign cheques
Harlow
Essex
CM20 9UF

You (the holder of the account) must sign all foreign currency cheques on the back before you send them to us. The signatures must be in accordance with the account mandate. Please also write the sort code and account number that you want the cheque to be paid into on the back of the cheque.

When we get foreign cheques, we'll send them for either 'negotiation' or 'collection'. For more information on cheque collection and negotiation, please see our Guide to your Account document (pdf).

Please refer to the Banking Tariff (pdf) for details of the collection and negotiation charges which apply. As part of this process, we will arrange for these foreign currency cheques to be converted to the currency of your account (where applicable). This conversion will be carried out at the exchange rate applicable to payments made into your account. Please visit our Foreign payments and currencies page for details of today’s exchange rates.

Frequently asked questions

This service is not currently available, but it's something that we plan to introduce in the future.

If a cheque is returned unpaid, we will send you a letter with the reason why the cheque has been unpaid. We won't be able to return the unpaid cheque to you. You'll need to ask for a new cheque, or alternative payment from the original issuer of the cheque. Likewise, you may be asked to issue a new cheque or make an alternative payment.

Cheques

Where to send your cheques

Will I be able to scan my own cheques and send in the image?

How will unpaid cheques be returned to me?