There's no reason why a cheque paid into a bank couldn't be cleared electronically. Swedes complained about the length of time it took to clear cheques. The Swedish government followed up their complaints and told the banks to get their act together. If they didn't, the government threatened to take steps to make them do it. The banks took fright, and set up an electronic clearing system in a very short space of time. Now, in Sweden, it only takes up to about four hours for a cheque to be cleared and the money transferred to an account. The government in the UK looked at this some time ago, and said they'd take action. Since then - a deafening silence. Who owns the UK clearing houses? The banks themselves do! And they'd much rather make use of those millions of pounds held in limbo for their own profitable purposes than pass it on quickly.