Cheques to 'Cash'

[Khandro]

Is it still possible to send someone - who doesn't have a bank account - a cheque made out to 'cash' or 'cash to bearer' for them to go to my branch in U.K. and obtain the money, as was once the case, or is there any other way to do this?

[Squitty]

Yes, recruitment companies do this all the time. They issue a cheque with a letter which authorises the cheque to be cashed without a bank account.

[Buenchico]

The way to 'uncross' a cheque is described here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread .html?t=483662

However, as is pointed out on that thread, many banks will no longer honour such cheques. Either send a postal order (obtainable from any post office) or send the money via PayPal:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2079370_send-payments- through-paypal.html

Chris

[spudqueen]

Postal order sounds a good way, though you do have to pay a commission fee to buy them (for example a postal order for �10 would probably cost you �11). You do have to specify that you want it open and not crossed. However, the recipient can then take it into ANY post office and cash it.

btw in the 'old days' you would have written an open cheque (one without the two little vertical lines in the middle) and made it payable to the person who was going to cash it.

[Khandro]

Squitty. Thanks, the accompanying letter sounds promising.
Buenchico. Thanks for thread, though I see this method may have problems. Postal orders are expensive, and don't you need a bank account to receive money from paypal?
Spudqueen. Yes I remember those days.