How to cash a cheque in Nigeria

In Nigeria, one form of payment that is normally accepted is a cheque. It is a bank instrument that looks like a printed paper form which allows a bank account owner to make payments to another person by filling and signing it.

A cheque is normally plain and ineffective until it has been filled and signed by the bank account owner and should be issued to a beneficiary who will then present it to a bank to get paid.

How does one cash a cheque in Nigeria? How can one convert it from paper to money? Well, there are 2 ways I know one can do this and this can be by cashing it over the counter or by depositing it into a bank account.

Conditions for cashing a cheque in Nigeria
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- The beneficiary name written on the cheque must match the name of the receiving account or the receiver

- The cheque must be signed by the owner

- The cheque must not have expired. I think cheques expire after 6 months from date of issue

Ways to cash a cheque
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1. By cashing over the counter
2. By depositing it into a receiving account

Cashing a cheque over the counter
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If someone issue a cheque to you in Nigeria, you can cash it over the counter if it's in your name by proving a formal means of identity such as a national id card, driver's license or international passport. The cheque would be presented to the bank cashier who validates it and then pays the receiver after confirming some details. It takes time and one could spend as much as 30 minutes before getting the cash.

Depositing a cheque to a receiving account
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One can also deposit a cheque into a receiving bank account which bears the same name as the name written on the cheque. The common type of account used in cashing a cheque in Nigeria is a current account but there are also special accounts nowadays that can also help you to cash the cheque.

To deposit a cheque into a bank account, one needs to first fill a bank teller indicating the amount, date, account name and the cheque's issuing bank. If the cheque is presented to the same bank that owns the cheque, then it takes less number of days before the value is credited to the receiver's account else it may take more days. It can take about 3 to 5 days before a cheque's value is credited to a receiving account in Nigeria. Some take as little as 24 hrs and this is common for cheques issued by and paid into the same bank.