Cheques

Pay in a cheque
Cheque clearing times
Order a cheque book
Write a cheque
Cancel a cheque
Lost or stolen cheque book

Pay in a cheque

For Co-operative Bank accounts

You can pay in a cheque by:

• Visiting a Co-operative Bank branch
• Sending your cheque and a completed paying-in slip in an envelope to 'Freepost Co-operative Bank Cheques' (no stamp required). Time frames may vary depending on how it's sent and where it's being sent from, so please allow time for us to receive your cheque
• Sending your cheque and paying-in slip with a stamp to the address below if you would like your cheque to arrive sooner.

Co-operative Bank p.l.c
PO Box 12672
Harlow
CM20 9QR

You can also pay cheques and cash into your account by visiting your local Post Office®. You'll need a paying-in slip and a Post Office® envelope to do this.

For Britannia accounts

You can pay in a cheque by:

• Visiting a Co-operative Bank branch
• Sending your cheque and paying-in slip with a stamp to the address below.

Co-operative Bank p.l.c
Newton House
Dept C033
Leek
Staffordshire
ST13 5RL

Cheque clearing times

If you've written a cheque which is paid into a bank or building society using cheque imaging, it should debit your account after two working days.

More about cheque clearing times

Order a cheque book

You can order a cheque book in online banking or by getting in touch with us.

How to order a cheque book

Write a cheque

When you write a cheque you'll need to include:

• The payee's name - the person you are paying
• The date
• The amount in words
• The amount in numbers
• Your signature.

Payee's name

You need to write the payee's name as it appears on their bank account. If you write a cheque in joint names, it will need to be paid into a joint bank account.

If you're writing a cheque to a company, you need to write the company name as it appears on their bill, statement or invoice.

Date

The date is the day you are writing the cheque and needs to include the day, month and year.

Cheques are only valid for six months, so make sure you pay them in before they expire.

Amount in words

You need to write the amount in full, followed by the word 'only'. For example, £65.32 would be written as 'sixty five pounds and thirty two pence only'.

This will stop anyone changing the amount written on your cheque.

You can also draw a line through the rest of the amount box after the word 'only'.

Amount in numbers

Write these in the small box on the right hand side. The amount in numbers must match the amount in words and should include pounds and pence.

Signature

You need to sign your cheque in the space in the bottom right hand corner.

Cancel a cheque

Tell us as soon as possible if you need to cancel a cheque. If the cheque you've written has already been paid in, we may not be able to stop it.

To cancel a cheque log into online banking and send us a secure message.

If you're not registered for online banking please contact us.

You'll need to tell us:

• The name of the payee
• The amount
• The cheque Serial Number - this is found on the bottom of the cheque.

Lost or stolen cheque book

Contact us immediately if you think your cheque book is lost or stolen.