Cheque and Credit Clearing Company

The Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Limited (C&CCC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the new home for UK retail payments, Pay.UK. The C&CCC managed the cheque and credit clearing system in England and Wales from 1985 and in Scotland from 1996. Since its launch in October 2017 the company also managed the Image Clearing System, which enables digital images of cheques to be exchanged between banks and building societies across the whole of the UK for clearing and settlement. As well as clearing sterling cheques drawn on UK bank accounts and other eligible debit items (bankers’ drafts, postal orders, warrants, government payable orders and travellers’ cheques) the paper clearing system and the Image Clearing System process bill payments and other credit items accompanied by cash or cheques. The oversight, systemic risk management and strategic direction of the running and managing of the cheque paper and cheque image clearing systems has been handed over to the board of Pay.UK as the System Operator. All payments continue to be processed as usual. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pay.UK, the C&CCC will continue to support the paper clearing system for cheques and credits and the Image Clearing System (ICS).