Hello,

I received a small payment from the UK by bank cheque.
Anyone has experience how do I turn it into real money?
Is it expensive through Swiss banks? Should I do it while I am in the UK?

What is the simplest way (the amount is really small)?

Thanks for your help.

I used to receive cheques and i just paid them into my Migros account and they was available the next day

Are there any charges involved?

They slap a charge on it, unfortunately, which, if the amount is that small you might end up paying more to change it.

Last time I went to cash a cheque (my grandmother sent me GBP20 for my birthday a few years ago) it cost a hefty %, not to mention the look on the cashier's face when she was handling it as though it was something from an antiques shop.

That's a good trick on the part of us grannies.
Send a cheque and then half the time the kids don't even bother to cash it

It will cost u at least 10CHF in a Swiss bank - suggest u do it while in the UK

If you have a UK bank account, mail the cheque to your bank with a covering letter asking them to credit your account with the amount. Cost= a postage stamp...

..and the added risk of it going walk abouts. I had my post opened and a cheque changed into a different name and countersigned by my initials. The bank banked it, my bank cleared it then it was up to me to go to the police here, file a report and say that it was fraud. I'd chance it though if it was a small amount.

UBS gave me the money instantly when I gave them a pounds sterling cheque. They have some rule about if your assets are more than twice the cheque amount then they will pay on the spot. Presumably, they block assets to the value of the cheque until it clears. It took around 3 weeks to clear and cost over CHF 20 - so if the amount is small I would ask for a bank transfer instead or do it when you are back in the UK.

I had a US tax return check come to me a few weeks ago. I just deposited it into my Kantonalbank and it was converted to CHF at the current rate. No biggie, and it only took a couple of days for the funds to become available.

Conversely - is it possible to get a cheque (or similar device) issued in Switzerland?

Yes, cheques exist, but not as we know them. Though even their use in decline. It's some years since I saw one. There were "Eurochecks". These were a bit like traveller's cheques and cost about CHF5 each even though blank.

I once got a tax rebate paid by cheque. This was attached to the bottom of an A4 sheet.

As Swiss banking is in real time during working hours at least, the cheque was credited immediatley to my account with zero days to clear...