What it is
Cheque deposits let you pay a physical cheque into your Tide account by photographing the front and back within the app, rather than needing to visit a branch or post it to a processing centre. It's aimed at businesses that occasionally receive cheques — from clients, insurers, or older-fashioned customers — without needing an entirely separate deposit process for the rare occasion it happens.
Who can access it and on which plans
Cheque deposit functionality is generally available across plans, since it addresses an occasional but genuine need for many small businesses, though the fee per cheque can vary by plan tier, and some plans may include a small allowance of free cheque deposits before a per-item fee applies. Check current fees and any allowance on our plans and fees page.
How it works step by step
- Open the cheque deposit feature in the Tide app.
- Photograph the front of the cheque, ensuring all details are clearly legible.
- Photograph the back of the cheque, including any required endorsement.
- Submit the images and confirm the amount matches what's written on the cheque.
- The cheque is processed and funds typically clear within the standard cheque clearing cycle, minus any deposit fee.
Current cost and allowances
Cheque deposits are usually charged per cheque, similar in structure to cash deposits, rather than as a percentage of the cheque's value. Some plans may bundle a small number of free cheque deposits per month. Because cheque volumes are low for most modern businesses, this fee rarely adds up to much overall, but check current per-cheque fees on our plans and fees page if you receive them regularly.
A worked example
A small charity shop occasionally receives cheque donations from older supporters who don't use online banking. Rather than treating each cheque as a special trip to a branch, the shop manager photographs and deposits each one through the app as it arrives, paying the standard per-cheque fee. Because cheques arrive only a handful of times a year, the total cost is negligible next to the convenience of not needing a branch visit at all.
Limitations and exclusions
Cheque clearing takes several working days regardless of the deposit method, so app-based deposit doesn't speed up the underlying clearing cycle, only the act of paying it in. Image quality matters — a poorly lit or blurry photograph can cause a deposit to be rejected and need resubmitting. And as with cash, this is a per-item fee structure, so a business receiving many small cheques pays more proportionally than one receiving fewer, larger ones.
How it compares with alternatives
High street banks with branches allow in-person cheque deposits, sometimes via a night safe or counter, and increasingly also offer mobile cheque deposit via their own apps, so this isn't unique to Tide. The relevant comparison for a Tide customer is against banks that don't offer any mobile cheque deposit at all, in which case Tide's app-based route is a genuine convenience; against banks that do offer it, the fee structure is the more useful point of comparison.
Relationship to the REFER200 offer
Cheque deposits have no bearing on the offer. They aren't card transactions, so they don't count towards the £100 qualifying spend step, and a cheque paid into the current account doesn't count towards the £5,000 Instant Saver funding step, which specifically requires the money to be in the Instant Saver pot.
Depositing a cheque, step by step
- Open the cheque deposit tool in the app rather than trying to pay in the cheque any other way.
- Lay the cheque flat in good, even light and photograph the front, making sure the amount, date and signature are all legible.
- Turn the cheque over, add any endorsement Tide's instructions require, and photograph the back.
- Check the app's read-out of the amount matches what's written on the cheque before submitting.
- Keep the physical cheque for a short period after depositing (a common precaution with any mobile cheque deposit) in case the bank needs to see the original.
- Check the current per-cheque fee on our plans and fees page, particularly if you expect to deposit several in a short period.
A worked scenario
A therapist who occasionally works with an older client base receives two or three cheques a month from clients who don't use online banking. Rather than making a special branch trip for each one, she photographs and deposits each cheque within a day of receiving it, and the standard clearing cycle means the money is available a few working days later. Because volumes are low, the per-cheque fee makes little difference to her monthly costs, but she keeps a simple log of cheque dates so she can query anything that seems to be taking longer than usual.
Who this suits, and who needs more
This suits any small business that receives cheques occasionally but not often enough to justify a different banking setup — solo practitioners, small charities, businesses with an older customer base. A business receiving a high volume of cheques regularly should actively encourage clients toward bank transfer or card payment instead, since per-item cheque fees scale with volume in a way that other payment methods generally don't.
Alternatives within Tide and beyond
Within Tide, cash deposits work on the same per-item logic for a different payment type — see our cash deposits page if you handle both. Outside Tide, most high street banks now also offer mobile cheque deposit through their own apps, so this isn't a unique advantage; the fee structure and clearing time are the points worth comparing if you're choosing a bank partly on this basis.