About bank charges

If you take out more money than you have available in your account, this will result in an overdraft which means you have effectively borrowed money from the bank. If you do this without asking first, you will have to pay interest charges at a higher rate than if you had asked first (known as a formal overdraft).

Also, be aware that if there is not enough money in your account to make a payment or cheque, the bank may refuse to pay an item (such as a bill, gym membership or cheque), so will return it unpaid (also known as bouncing) and charge you a fee.

The Clearing Cycle

When you pay a cheque into your account; you need to wait for the funds to clear before you take that money out. How can you be sure that the cheque has been paid, and what effect can this have? APACS have issued a simple guide  (opens as a PDF 0.1Mb) to help take the mystery out of the clearing cycle.