How to Pay in a Cheque Online with your Phone

February 20, 2022
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How to Pay in a Cheque Online with your Phone

Want to know how to pay in a Cheque online? Thousands of people in the UK are turning to depositing cheques with a mobile banking app. Since the first lockdown, banks encouraged customers to stay at home and not visit branches. Figures from Lloyds, one of Britain’s high street banks, revealed that more than 125,000 cheques were digitally deposited in a week.

This figure includes business banking customers. Meanwhile, HSBC, another high street bank with 14.5 million customers, said 30% more cheques were digitally cashed every week. Previously, the figures were around 4,500 cheques a day.

As more people turn to technology, you must learn how to pay in a cheque online with your smartphone.

Here’s a breakdown of how you can pay in a cheque online with your phone.

How to Deposit a Cheque With Your Mobile Banking App

Let’s face it. Getting to a bank branch during opening hours is not always possible. Thankfully, many UK banks now offer the ability to pay in a cheque via their apps. If you don’t fancy making a trip to your local branch, scan your cheque using the bank app and convert it into money.

Here are the top 5 UK banks that allow you to pay in a cheque with your smartphone.

How to Pay in a Cheque Online with Lloyds Bank

Deposits your cheques at Lloyds bank even on the go. The Lloyds mobile banking app is available for Android and iOS devices. To deposit your cheques digitally with the Lloyds banking app, follow these steps:

Launch the Lloyds mobile banking app
Tap the three lines on the upper right corner of your screen
Select ‘Deposit Cheque and View Deposit History’
Enter the exact amount of the cheque
Add a reference (this helps to remind you what the money’s for or who it’s from)
To take a good photo, lay the cheque on a flat surface.
Ensure the surface has a dark background.
Tap ‘Front of cheque’ to allow the app to scan your cheque
Hold camera level and position your smartphone over your cheque

When the green rectangle appears on the screen, hold your smartphone still for a few seconds. The Lloyds mobile bank app will scan the front of your cheque. Repeat for the reverse of the cheque even when it’s blank. Review the image and confirm your deposit.

To see when the money will be available, tap ‘Deposit History’.

How to Pay in a Cheque Online with Halifax…

Like Lloyds and other UK banks, Halifax allows you to pay in cheque up to a value of £500 with a total daily allowance of £750. To deposit your cheque, follow these steps:

Tap the three dots on the app’s tile
Select ‘Deposit Cheque’
Enter the cheque’s value
Add a reference to keep track of what the money is for or where its from
Tap ‘Front of cheque’ This will prompt the app to take a photo
Lay the cheque on a flat surface
Hold your smartphone over your cheque
Make sure the green border appears
Hold still for a few seconds

Once the app takes the photo, repeat for the reverse of the cheque. Review both images to ensure the details are clear and correct. Tap ‘Confirm’ and that’s it. You’ve deposited your cheque at Halifax. The bank does not charge a fee for using this service. But you may incur data charges from your network provider.

How to Pay in a Cheque Online with Barclays…

With the Barclays app, you pay in cheques by using your smartphone’s camera. All you need to do is take a photo of your cheque and submit it via the app. By 23:59pm the following weekday, you’ll get your money if you pay the cheque in by 15:59 the day before.

You can pay into any Barclays savings or sterling current account, excluding Bond and ISA accounts. If you’re a Personal Premier customer, you can pay in sterling cheques up to four cheques every seven days, each £1,000. But if you’re a Business customer, Barclays allows you to pay 20 cheques per week.

To pay in cheque, follow these steps:
Log in to the Barclays app
Select Pay & Transfer at the bottom of your smartphone screen
Tap ‘Pay in a cheque’
Choose the account you want to pay into
Enter a reference and amount
Select ‘Take Photo’

Once you do so, your smartphone camera will automatically switch on. Take a photo of your cheque (front side). Make sure to align with the green rectangle on your screen. After photographing the front of the cheque, do the same for the back. Tap ‘Pay in Cheque’, and you’re done.

How to Pay in a Cheque Online with HSBC…

Pay your cheques into HSBC accounts with HSBC mobile bank app. Available for Android and iOS devices, the app is safe, easy and secure. HSBC allows up to £500 a cheque with a daily limit of up to £750. To deposit your cheque, follow these 5 steps:

Sign-in to your HSBC mobile banking app
Select ‘Move Money’ then ‘Deposit a Cheque’
Enter the account and cheque amount you wish to deposit
Scan the front and back of the cheque
Select ‘Deposit Now’ after reviewing both images

You must retain the cheque until HSBC adds the money into your account. All cheques deposited before 10 PM on a working day will be available the next working day at 11:59 PM. If the cheque bounces, the transaction will fail.

If there is a problem with your cheque, HSBC will contact you using your recent postal address.

How to Pay in a Cheque Online with First Direct…

HSBC owns First Direct, which means the bank also offers online cheque deposits via its mobile banking app. The process is simple. Launch the First Direct mobile banking app on your smartphone. Long press on the account you would like to deposit your cheque into.

Not all smartphones support the long press features. If this is the case with your phone, just select the account you want to pay into. If using an Android smartphone or tablet, tap the plus sign on the bottom right of your screen. Select ‘Pay in a Cheque’.

If using an iOS device, tap the three dots on the top right corner of your screen and select ‘Pay in a cheque’. Enter the cheque value, then scan the front and back of the cheque. Submit the cheque to First Direct.

This is a free service, but you’ll incur data charges from your mobile network provider. After submitting your cheque, you must await the decision whether it’s paid or not. This usually takes a couple of hours. For example, if you submitted the cheque at 22:00, the bank will decide no later than 23:59.

First Direct does not accept foreign currency cheques. Only Sterling cheques. Using this service, you can pay into the following accounts:

1st Account
Savings Account
Bonus Savings Account

There is an individual limit of £500 per cheque, but you’re able to pay a total of £750 in cheques per day. If your cheque is over the individual limit, post it to First Direct or pay it in a post office or HSBC branch.

Other UK Banks Where You Can Deposit Cheques Online

The following are banks where you can pay in cheques using your smartphone.

Natwest
Starling
Bank of Scotland
Virgin
Royal Bank of Scotland

Banks where you can’t pay in a cheque via the banking app include:

Santander
TSB
Nationwide
Monzo
Co-Operative

We hope the banks above will address the inability to pay in a cheque through their banking apps.

What happens after you pay in your cheque online?

There are a couple of things to bear in mind. First, once the bank accepts your cheque, mark the reverse side as ‘Deposited’. When the status reads “funds available” in your banking app ‘Deposit History’ tab, you can destroy the cheque. The best ways to do so include shredding or tearing.

Second, do the following to submit a legible image of your cheque. Place the cheque flat on a surface with a dark and unreflective background. Hover the phone camera over your cheque and ensure the image is in focus. If the whole cheque is visible inside the green rectangle, hold still for a few seconds. Your phone will capture the image automatically.

Lastly, if the banking app rejects your cheque, do not try to pay it in. Usually, the banking app will display the reason for rejection. Just check the ‘Deposit History’.

Final Thoughts

It’s really simple to pay in a cheque using a banking app. This method is safe, secure and saves you time, unlike the traditional method where you visited the bank or post office. Using the banking app, you can do this from home or even on the go. Once accepted, the bank adds the money into your account. If your bank is not progressive and lacks this nifty feature, consider switching.