| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Barefoot Andrew |
Funds transfer clearanceWhy, in the Modern Age, do payments from one account in organisation A to another account in organisation B have to "clear". Even an internet banking payment has to "clear" for three working days. Are there any technical or practical reasons for this, or are banks thieving charlatans? Discuss...A. |
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| dpack |
the latter | ||||
| Jonnyboy |
Re: Funds transfer clearance
The latter, when I was building the house they would still take the max 5 days to clear building society cheques, and take the effing charges!! |
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| Northern_Lad |
No, no real reasons now.
However, two things to bear in mind... 1: Transfers with the same bank are usually 'instant' now. 2: As from sometime next year (IIRC) clearing will be down to a single night. |
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| Penny |
Very much the latter - it's very lucrative for Banks 
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| dougal |
There's also CHAPS, for serious money.
And what I refer to as "the poor man's CHAPS" - go to the bank, draw cash (don't count it or even take it across the counter), then present a 'paid-in' slip for the account its going to, and pay it straight back in as cash. Its shows up on the other account (at the very worst) overnight. Maybe be ready to explain it to the money-laundering people, though... |
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| Nick |
Money laundering people don't notice you if it's a business account, or, in private accounts, unless you go over £4,000, in which case it's registered. Nothing can happen, but a record will be made at a special department. And it only applies to deposits, not withdrawals. And, as long as you can explain it, there's no problem. 
If you can't, make multiple sub £4,000 deposits. They don't get registered. Um. Apparently. |
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| bernie-woman |
Oh yeah - we did one of those last year - bl***y Lloyds TSB tried to charge me £30 for the privelege as I wanted the money transferred into an account which was not one of theirs - they couldn't explain to me how it could ever cost £30 - all they said is that they have to send a fax to Birmingham - I hate Lloyds TSB
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| Northern_Lad |
Oh, I've got lots more reasons to dislike them, but that's not for now. They can, in fairness, charge what they like for it as they're provide a risk-unmanaged service. However, £30 is still steep concidering you can get if for about 30p if you're a company. |
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| bernie-woman |
It wasn't so much the amount but the fact that they were desperately trying to get me to put the money into one of their accounts (charge free of course) and that they couldn't be honest about why they want to charge that amount - just this pathetic fax excuse - I need to stop talking about them I really, really hate them (there are other reasons)
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| Barefoot Andrew |
I had an unhelpful chat with HSBC earlier. A direct debit goes out of my account today which takes me over my overdraft limit. They said they'd honour the DD but charge me £25, despite the fact they can readily see uncleared funds in my business account that aren't available to me until tomorrow.
I had a chat with a very helpful chap at the Banking Ombudsman - who echoed NL's comments that from 2008 (poss 2009) the three days will be reduced to one. He went on to say that although the ethics of charging £25 when there are uncleared funds elsewhere might be distasteful, no breach of FSA regulations has occured and HSBC can charge me £25 if they wish. I was going to pen a constructive letter to the bank formally asking them to waive the fee, but I've borrowed the £80 shortfall from elsewhere and side-stepped the whole shebang. Effing banks... A. |
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| dougal |
Care to tell more about the 30p? NatWest charge 'business customers' about 100x that for CHAPS. And want to charge businesses for cash handling (aspect to watch for with 'poor man's CHAPS) - I can see the point for mixed coppers, but not for £50 notes at the same %... 
The cost of banking cash explains the eagerness of supermarkets, etc, to offer 'cashback'... |
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| Northern_Lad |
Can't give you much detail as I don't know - fairly sure it's done throught the RoyLine system, and we're talking a few hundred payments a week. |
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| dougal |
Odd. Google shows Royline as being RBS, but the pages aren't there any more. Google's cache indicates that RoyLine may already have been subsumed into Bankline. (Searching RBS's site for RoyLine also gives lots of hits for pages that aren't there anymore! ) And Bankline offers BACs and CHAPS. I can well imagine BACs transfers being charged at 30p or so. But not CHAPS, surely? http://www.rbs.co.uk/corporate/electronic-services/g1/bankline/payments-transfers.ashx |