The Cheque and Credit Clearing Company is a membership-based industry body with twelve settlement members. In addition to managing the cheque clearing system in Great Britain, which also processes bankers' drafts, building society cheques, postal orders, warrants and government payable orders, its wide remit includes the management of the systems for clearing paper bank giro credits and euro-denominated cheques.

Members of the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company are individually responsible for processing cheques drawn by or credited to the accounts of their customers. In addition, several hundred other institutions provide cheque facilities for their customers and obtain indirect access to the cheque clearing mechanisms by means of commercially negotiated agency arrangements with one of the full members.

Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Members (September 2007)

• ABBEY
• ALLIANCE AND LEICESTER
• BANK OF ENGLAND
• BANK OF SCOTLAND (HBOS)
• BARCLAYS
• CLYDESDALE
• THE CO-OPERATIVE BANK
• HSBC
• LLOYDS TSB
• NATIONWIDE
• NATWEST
• ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND

6.5 million cheques and credits pass through the GB interbank clearing each working day. Cheque volumes reached a peak in 1990 but usage has fallen since then, mainly owing to increased use of plastic cards and direct debits by personal customers. However, cheques remain popular in the business sector for paying suppliers.

Overall cheque volumes are expected to continue to fall from a level of 2.8 billion in 1999 to about 1.7 billion by 2009.

Please visit the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company's website for more information on the cheque and credit clearing processes.