PICTURE this. It's the 7th of August, but thanks to some careless partying, you are left with a paltry balance of Rs 2,000 in your bank account, even before the middle of the month.

Your car EMI of Rs 8,000 is due on the 10th. You are worried. A bounced cheque means a penalty and interest charges. You call up dad (who lives in another suburb of the city) and ask him to deposit a cheque in your account. He does. But will the cheque make it before the EMI?

Let's find out!

How long does a cheque take to process?
The timelines for cheque processing (that is, for the amount to get credited into your bank account) depends on whether it is:

• Local clearing
• Outstation clearing
• A same branch transfer
• A high value clearing

Let’s look at each of these in detail.

Read: 7 strategies that make your bank richer

Photograph: Robert Patterson/Getty Images

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e-mail: Ketul Shah

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