Cheque Guarantee Scheme

The first cheque card was introduced in October 1965, guaranteeing payment of sterling cheques up to a value of £30. This limit was raised in 1977 to £50 and two additional limits of £100 and £250 were introduced in 1989.

In July 1969 the UK Domestic Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme was established to create common, easily-identifiable design features to simplify acceptance procedures for retailers and other businesses. Since 1 October 1990 the common theme appearing on all participating cards has been the bust of William Shakespeare.

Some 5 million adults currently use guaranteed cheques on a regular basis. However, this figure is expected to continue falling in line with the general trend of declining cheque use.

The Scheme gives retailers greater certainty when accepting cheques. However, if the conditions of use outlined below are not met, the guarantee is void and cheques may be returned unpaid.

  • One cheque per transaction is guaranteed up to the value limit shown on the accompanying cheque guarantee card.
  • Cheques must be dated correctly with the actual date of issue (i.e. they must not be post-dated).
  • The cheque card number must be written on the reverse of the cheque by the payee (and not by the paying customer).
  • Cheques must be signed by the payer (i.e. the account holder) in the presence of the payee as the guarantee is only valid in a face-to-face environment.
  • The cheque guarantee card must be valid, i.e. it may only be used prior to reaching its expiry date and must not have been altered or defaced.
  • When using cheques to obtain cash, customers are limited to one guaranteed cheque per day for this purpose. Cashiers use frequency-marking pages (found at the back of chequebooks) to keep a record of encashments and to ensure that the one per-day rule is adhered to.
  • Encashed cheques must be banked no later than 3 days after the date on which the encashment service is provided.
  • The Scheme only applies to personal cheques.
  • The Scheme only applies to sterling cheques drawn on UK banks, for use in the UK (it also covers those issued or used in Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands).

Conditions of use are available from www.apacs.org.uk.