Help with our banking products and services  

You can order a new cheque book by logging in to CAF Bank Online or by calling us on 03000 123 456 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, except English bank holidays).

With most UK banks now using cheque imaging, CAF Bank cheques are processed as digital images. This allows cheques to clear by 23:59 the next business working day and in many cases earlier, as long as the cheque has not been returned unpaid.

The paper cheque will be destroyed at the branch where it's paid in. The image becomes the legal document once it enters the cheque imaging system.

It's always important to make sure that:
- there are enough funds on your account when issuing a cheque, and;
- cheques are signed in accordance with your bank signing mandate.

Payments made from our Online Banking service are sent to UK beneficiaries as Online Faster Payments.

- Maximum £100,000 per payment.
- No minimum amount.
- No charge.
- Subject to dual authorisation where payments are made to a third party beneficiary.
- If the payment is made by 4pm, the payment is received by the beneficiary by close of business on the next business day.
- If the payment is made after 4pm, the payment is received by the beneficiary by close of  business on the second business day.

Find out more about our Online Banking service here.

Single Immediate Payments (SIPs) enable you to send money to UK beneficiaries.

Instructions must be received by letter.

- Maximum £100,000 per payment.
- SIPs are processed within 2 hours of us receiving the instruction, before 3pm.

SIP instructions received after 3pm, will be processed on the next business day.

- Please provide clear instructions, including amount of the payment, the beneficiary name and beneficiary bank details.
- If your payment instruction is incomplete or not signed in accordance with your mandate, we won't be able to process it and will contact you.
- There is a charge for making a SIP. Please refer to our Fee Information Document.

CHAPs payments enable you to send money to UK beneficiaries on the same day.
Please note:

Instructions must be received by letter.

Please provide clear instructions, including amount of the payment, the beneficiary and beneficiary bank details. 

To send money to a bank account outside the UK, either in pounds or foreign currency,
you'll need to complete a 'Sending money outside the UK' form which is available to download from CAF Bank Online.

You can also request a form by emailing us at cafbank@cafonline.org or calling 03000 123 456 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, except English bank holidays).

Please complete the form carefully and accurately. This includes making sure that you confirm the reason that the payment is being made.

- There’s no upper limit to sending money outside the UK, as long as there are available funds in your account.
- If we receive a valid payment instruction to Europe before midday, the payment will be processed on that date, subject to our internal monitoring processes. The payment should be received by the beneficiary up to five business days afterwards, dependent on the currency of the payment and the receiving bank.
- If we receive a valid payment instruction to a beneficiary outside Europe before midday, the payment will be processed before the third business day, subject to our internal monitoring process. For example an instruction received on a Tuesday before midday, will be processed by Thursday of the same week. The payment should be received by your beneficiary between five and ten business days afterwards, dependent on the currency of the payment and the receiving Bank.
- If your payment instruction is incomplete or not signed in accordance with your mandate, we won't be able to process it and will contact you.
- There is a charge for sending money outside the UK. Please refer to our Fee Information Document.

Our Bacs bureau service is an efficient way to send bulk payments in the UK, including to suppliers and staff salaries, using dual authorisation. You can also process your incoming Direct Debits under the same service using our user-friendly service.

You can find out more about our Bacs bureau service here. 

You can deposit cash and cheques in any branch of HSBC (which offers a full or cash service), if you are based in England or Wales, or RBS if you are based in Scotland. Alternatively, you can pay cheques in at the Post Office using an envelope provided by us.

To search for HSBC branches which offer full or cash services, please use the HSBC branch finder.

Yes.  We offer secured loan facilities to established charities and social purpose enterprises with at least a three year track record. 

We know that each client’s circumstances are different and treat each enquiry on a case-by case-basis. Part of this is assessing that any money you do borrow is affordable.

Depending on your circumstances, we can lend from £150,000 to £5,000,000. If you are a Registered Social Landlord, we can lend up to £9,000,000.

Find out more here about our loan application process.

Call us on 03000 123 444 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, except English bank holidays), if you’d prefer to chat with one of our loan experts.

Our Online Banking service, CAF Bank Online, allows you to monitor your balance, view transactions, make payments and manage your users.