Benefits of 2-4-6 for consumers

There are important new changes that will benefit you when paying in cheques.

When you pay in a cheque these changes will help provide clarity on:

1. When your account will start to earn interest on money paid in by cheque.
2. When the balance on which overdraft interest is charged will be reduced, if your account is overdrawn.
3. When you will be able to withdraw the money paid in by cheque from your account.
4. When money has safely cleared with no chance of it being reclaimed without your consent, unless you are knowing party to fraud.

Providing clarity

From the end of November 2007, changes known as 2-4-6 will come into force. These will increase clarity and certainty when you are paying in cheques to a bank or building society account.

For the first time, after paying in a cheque, you can be sure that at the end of six working days, the money is yours. You are protected from any loss if the cheque subsequently bounces, unless you are a knowing party to a fraud.

The changes also set maximum times when customers start earning interest on money paid in and when it will be available for withdrawal. Banks and building societies will still compete to offer services that beat these guaranteed time limits for interest and withdrawal.

Improving withdrawal times

In particular, the changes are likely to improve withdrawal times for the UK’s 6.5 million basic bank account holders enabling them to withdraw their money more quickly. These industry-wide changes set a maximum time limit of two, four and six working days for each of the stages after paying in a cheque to a current or basic bank account.

For savings accounts the maximum time limit for withdrawal is longer. If you want faster access to cheque funds you should consider paying it into a current or basic bank account.

We have produced a leaflet for consumers that explains the 2-4-6 changes:

Download: 2-4-6 leaflet for customer (PDF 1.3MB)