Pay US Cheque into UK Bank Account

[neversay]

A US stimulus cheque/check has arrived at our UK address. DAK whether it is possible to pay it directly into a UK bank account?

We have various accounts with HSBC, the Post Office, Virgin Money etc. Hopefully we can avoid mailing it back to the US for a family member to pay into our USD account there. Still, it's a nice problem to have.

[dealtn]

A US stimulus cheque/check has arrived at our UK address. DAK whether it is possible to pay it directly into a UK bank account?

We have various accounts with HSBC, the Post Office, Virgin Money etc. Hopefully we can avoid mailing it back to the US for a family member to pay into our USD account there. Still, it's a nice problem to have.

You should be able to pay it in depending on the terms of your account.

However it will then be posted back to the US for clearing. Depending on how the UK bank decides to act you might have access to the funds in a few days, or a few weeks (even for a cheque presumably drawn on the US government - is that the case?). The UK bank can either present it for "negotiation" or "collection". In the shorter case of negotiation, if the cheque fails to clear due to lack of cleared funds you will need to reimburse the UK bank that credited you, in the longer case of collection you only get the funds when the UK bank does via cleared funds.

Expect to pay charges too.

(I don't think things have changed since I worked in a bank branch, but no doubt someone will inform us both if that is the case.)

[Arizona11]

I have paid in USD cheque into HSBC and it was pretty painless. I got the credit in a few days, although you may not get a great exchange rate. Fortunately, rates are in our favour at present. I then got a £60 charge the following month as a handling charge. Overall, HSBC was fine.

[Dod101]

If you have a US Dollar Account in the US I would send it back there. It will then be credited with no charges for exchange anyway. That is presumably what it is for (and of course for use whilst you are in the States.) It will surely need topping up from time to time.

HSBC is good at foreign exchange but it will cost you.

Dod

[neversay]

If you have a US Dollar Account in the US I would send it back there. It will then be credited with no charges for exchange anyway. That is presumably what it is for (and of course for use whilst you are in the States.) It will surely need topping up from time to time.

HSBC is good at foreign exchange but it will cost you.

Dod

Thanks @Dod101, @Arizona11 and @dealtn. If the charges are £60 I may post it back to family in the US to put into our US account. As you say @Dod101 we can invest the money there, but not knowing when we will be able to see our family and friends again is upsetting.

[gryffron]

I was quoted "up to ONE YEAR" for a US cheque/check to clear through a UK bank!

If you have the option of posting it back to the US and paying it in there, I would do that.

Gryff

[neversay]

I was quoted "up to ONE YEAR" for a US cheque/check to clear through a UK bank!

If you have the option of posting it back to the US and paying it in there, I would do that.

Gryff

Thanks Gryff. Crikey that's a long time. I checked today and it's just over £10 to do a tracked and signed letter back to the US so it will be going in the post tomorrow.

[Dod101]

I was quoted "up to ONE YEAR" for a US cheque/check to clear through a UK bank!

If you have the option of posting it back to the US and paying it in there, I would do that.

Gryff

Thanks Gryff. Crikey that's a long time. I checked today and it's just over £10 to do a tracked and signed letter back to the US so it will be going in the post tomorrow.

for
Just send it in the mail. I once had a cheque from the US which I still have actually,for believe it or not, for $0.01 delivered to me by DHL from New York dated 6 January 2017 or as they say 01/ 06/17. A bit over the top. I think a Royal Mail stamp would be quite sufficient.

Dod

[Pheidippides]

I have a US Bank Account and can USD deposit cheques on the mobile phone app

Check your bank account.

Regards

Pheid

[neversay]

I have a US Bank Account and can USD deposit cheques on the mobile phone app

Check your bank account.

Regards

Pheid

Well I never. We have a winner!

Thank you @Pheild. I downloaded the Chase App and, after all that, managed to deposit the cheque in seconds. As I usually check the account through a browser it hadn't occurred to me that their banking apps were so up to date. Thanks everyone for your answers, but @Pheild I'm now over the moon!

(On a different front, I could do with some quick advice on some US-UK account/tax questions if any of you have experience in these matters. Although I'm not sure which will be the correct board to pick up the thread).

[Arizona11]

Well done Neversay. I didn’t realise you had a US bank account or I would have recommended using the app to deposit the cheque. I have an account with Bank of America as I visit quite often and I have been depositing cheques for years using the app. Just hang on to the cheque for a couple of weeks to ensure it all clears and then you can chuck the cheque.

Well done all.