A cheque guarantee card is a plastic card that is used with a cheque as a guarantee to the recipient that your bank will pay them the value of the cheque, provided that the cheque is legitimately presented by the account holder and in accordance with the conditions of use of the scheme. The card confirms your identity and guarantees a sum up to the limit marked on the cheque card. The limit is normally £50 or £100, but some cards carry a £250 guarantee limit. It is not possible to place a stop on a guaranteed cheque and once the bank receives the cheque, they will have to pay it.

The cheque guarantee function can be issued on stand-alone cards but is most frquently issued as part of a multi-function card that include debit and/or cash withdrawal facilities.

The first cheque card was introduced in October 1965, guaranteeing payment of cheques up to £30. This value was replaced in August 1977 by £50 and subsequently two further limits of £100 and £250 were introduced in 1989.

The UK Domestic Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme commenced in July 1969 with the objective of creating common, easily identifiable design features to simplify acceptance procedures at point-of-sale. Since 1 October 1990, the common theme has been William Shakespeare and all cards with cheque guarantee functionality depict his image in various ways, eg within the cheque guarantee hologram or logo.

Conditions of Use

The conditions of use for the UK Domestic Guarantee Card Scheme provide the rules for accepting cheques guaranteed under the scheme. You can download a copy of the Conditions of Use of a cheque guarantee card and details on how to handle a guaranteed cheque transaction at the top of this page.