Why can I only use the paying-in slip in the back of my chequebook to pay cheque or cash into my account at my own bank? Why can't I put my cheques in at any bank?
The paying-in slips at the back of your chequebook, which are personalised with your account details, are only for use to pay in cash or cheques at your own bank. Some banks print these vouchers as BGCs, but sometimes the vouchers only have enough information to enable the customer to pay a cheque in at their own branch so are “paying-in slips” rather than BGCs.
Banks can choose not to accept transactions where there is no relationship with either party to the transaction. The reason for this is the receiving bank would then have to take on the liability for any losses if either the cheque or the BGC were the subject of fraud, and that would not be reasonable for the bank concerned. Also money laundering checks are harder to carry out if there is no prior relationship with the person or business paying in money.