Stop payment order is : a written notice that tells the bank not to pay a certain check

If you agree that someone can take a payment from your credit or debit card at a future date, known as a continuous payment authority, you can cancel the payment before it is taken. This applies to:

• one-off payments, for example to pay back a payday loan
• regular payments, such as payments for a gym membership or magazine subscription.

The rules about cancelling future card payments do not apply to card purchases for goods or services, such as in a shop or paying a hotel bill.

This page tells you about when you can stop a card payment, how to stop card payments and what to do if the card provider doesn't put things right.

If you stop payments which relate to another agreement, such as a loan or to pay for a club or gym membership or a magazine subscription, you’ll need to make another arrangement to pay the money you agreed.

The law says you can withdraw your consent and stop a future payment under a continuous payment authority at any time up to the end of business on the day before the payment is due.

To withdraw consent, simply tell whoever issued your card (the bank, building society or credit card company) that you don’t want the payment to be made. You can tell the card issuer by phone, email or letter.

Your card issuer has no right to insist that you ask the company taking the payment first. They have to stop the payments if you ask them to.

If you ask to stop a payment, the card issuer should investigate each case on its own merit. They should not apply a blanket policy of refusing to refund payments taken when the client gave their account number out.

You should point out to the card issuer that they should follow the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidance on unauthorised payments from your account. 

Cancelling the payment by phone

If you phone, it's a good idea to follow up the call in writing so you have proof of your instruction to cancel. But the company should take your phone call as the instruction and stop the arrangement straight away, not wait for you to confirm in writing.

If the person you speak to says you can't stop the payments, ask to speak to someone more senior. If they still won't stop the payments, ask them to put a record of the call on your account so you can refer to it later if you need to. Make sure you keep a note of the date, time and who you spoke to as well, in case you need to make a complaint.

If the card provider won't stop the payments

If the card provider goes ahead and allows a payment to be taken when you ask them not to, you're entitled to your money back. They'll also have to cancel any interest and charges added to your account because they let the payment go through.

Getting your money back

If your bank, building society or credit card company doesn't refund your money for a payment they shouldn't have allowed, write and ask for your money back under the company's complaints procedure.

If you're still not satisfied, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

You can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service helpline on 0300 123 9 123 or visit the website at: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Get help with bills and budgeting

If you're trying to cut your spending, or are having problems with your outgoings, you could get help with bills. You could also use our budgeting tool to see exactly where your money goes each month.

A cheque is a written order to NAB to pay a sum of money on demand. Some of NAB's banking services provide cheque access. If you have cheque access, the following features apply. Looking for information about bank cheques? Check out our bank cheque page.

Please note, the special clearance is no longer available.

Drawing a cheque

When you write out a cheque, it must be completed properly and with care to avoid fraudulent alteration, and be signed in accordance with the signing authority you have given NAB.

When signing a cheque you must: provide your full signature against each alteration you make; and date the cheque on the date it was signed; and complete all details.

When NAB receives your cheque for payment: it is deemed to be a request by you to NAB to withdraw funds from your account for the amount shown on the cheque; it is an authority to pay those funds to the payee of the cheque or to the payee's bank; and if there are not enough cleared funds in your account, NAB may dishonour or pay the cheque at its discretion.

Clearing a cheque

Generally it will take three working days from the time you deposit the cheque until the proceeds are available as cleared funds in your account.

The steps involved in clearing a cheque are usually: you deposit a cheque you have received into your NAB account; we will seek payment of the cheque from the bank on which the cheque is drawn; and the bank will pay the proceeds of the cheque to your NAB account. Only after the completion of these steps will the cheque be cleared.

Normally you will not be able to withdraw the value of a cheque you deposit until the cheque is cleared, even though your account will be immediately credited with the proceeds of the cheque. This rule applies even to cheques made payable to 'cash'.

Effect of crossing

If you cross a cheque (by drawing two parallel lines from top to bottom across the front of the cheque), you are telling NAB not to cash it over the counter. The cheque therefore must be paid to a bank (e.g. into a customer's account). If NAB does cash a crossed cheque, it may be liable for any loss suffered by the true owner.

Meaning of 'not negotiable'

You may write the words 'not negotiable' between the two parallel lines on your cheque. This means that if the cheque is transferred to another person, the person who obtains the cheque has no greater rights to it than the person who gave it.

For example, if the cheque was stolen, the person from whom the cheque was stolen might recover the amount of the cheque from the person who received payment, even though that person who received it may have done nothing wrong.

Meaning of 'account payee only'

You may also write 'account payee only' between the two parallel lines on your cheque. These words mean that you direct a bank that is accepting the cheque to pay the amount only to the account of the person named in the cheque. The bank is put on notice to make enquiries if a person other than the payee tries to pay the cheque into his or her own account, or tries to cash the cheque.

NAB may be liable to the true owner of the cheque if it negligently pays the proceeds of the cheque to a person other than the payee. The words 'account payee only' do not prevent the transfer of a cheque.

Significance of deleting 'or bearer'

Cheques are generally printed with the words 'or bearer' appearing at the end of the line on which you put the name of the person to be paid.

The words 'or bearer' mean that the bank on which the cheque is drawn is entitled to pay the cheque to the person in possession of the cheque, even if that person found it or stole it, unless the bank has reason to suspect that the cheque has fallen into the wrong hands.

If you wish to alter this position, the simplest way to do this is to cross out the words 'or bearer'. This will make the cheque an 'order' cheque. Where the cheque is an 'order' cheque, the bank on which the cheque is drawn must only pay the cheque to the person named as payee or to a person to whom the cheque has been endorsed.

Stop payment

You may stop payment of your cheque before it has been presented for payment by calling 13 22 65 from Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 7:00pm (AEST/AEDT), Saturday to Sunday, 9:00am to 6:00pm (AEST/AEDT) for personal customers or 13 10 12 from Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 8:00pm (AEST/AEDT), Saturday to Sunday, 9:00am to 6:00pm (AEST/AEDT) for business customers.

If you have access to NAB Internet Banking or NAB Telephone Banking, you can give us a stop payment instruction 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Alternatively, you may notify any branch of NAB, either in person or by phone.

NAB can stop a payment of a cheque, only if the:

• cheque has not been presented for payment
• details you provide are accurate (for example, the cheque number(s) are correct).

No matter how you choose to notify NAB it is important to tell us quickly if you want to stop payment. If you advise us by telephone, we will stop payment of the cheque (assuming the cheque has not already been presented for payment) and may also seek your written confirmation.

It is important to clearly identify the cheque by providing: the account name and number; the cheque number and amount; the date of the cheque; and to whom the cheque is payable.

Stops can't be placed on a single cheque or sequence of cheques via NAB Internet Banking, or any other channel, between the hours of 9pm and 4am AEST/AEDT inclusively.

1. Login to NAB Internet Banking with your NAB Identification number (ID) and NAB Internet Banking password.

2. From the main menu, go to the Account information section and select the Stop Cheque sub menu option.

3. Select the account that you want to stop the cheque payment on from the Select account drop down list.

4. Select why you want the cheque stopped from the Reason for stopping the cheque drop-down list. A fee of $15 per stopped cheque may be charged.

5. Select either:

• single cheque - Enter one cheque number
• range of cheques - Enter the first cheque number to stop and the last cheque number to stop.

Cheque numbers must be:

• in sequence (for example, 003 - 005 means cheques 3, 4 and 5).
• inclusive (for example, 003 - 005 means you are requesting a stop on cheque 3 and 5, not just cheque 4).

6. Click Submit. Your request has been sent.

NAB may charge a fee for stopping payment on a cheque and we will advise you of this fee at the time you request NAB to stop payment on it. The fee is also outlined in NAB's Personal Banking Fees and Charges Guide.

Depositing a cheque into your transaction or savings account

You can deposit a cheque or cash into your NAB Everyday Banking account at your nearest NAB branch or at selected NAB ATMs or using your smartphone.

Learn how to deposit a cheque using a smartphone. 

Depositing a cheque written in joint names

Only joint accounts can accept a cheque written in both names.

Cheque book has not arrived

If your cheque book has not arrived within 10 business days, please call 13 22 65 from 8am - 7pm Mon-Fri, or 9am - 6pm on weekends (AEST/AEDT) or +61 3 8641 9083 if you're overseas.

Re-order a cheque or deposit book

You can re-order a cheque or deposit book via NAB Internet Banking. Click on the Re-order Book option under the Accounts section of NAB Internet Banking.

You're also able to re-order a supply of Express Business Deposit (EBD) bags via NAB Internet Banking as long as you currently use the EBD specific deposit books (either standard or agent books, these books have EBD credit printed on each deposit slip).

If you don't currently use the EBD specific deposit book please speak to your branch or banker about ordering.

Re-orders cannot be placed on cheque or deposit book via NAB Internet Banking, or any other channel, between the hours of 9pm and 4am AEST/AEDT inclusively.

Unauthorised alteration of your cheques

When you write a cheque, you should take care to reduce the opportunity for forgery and fraud.

When writing a cheque: do not leave gaps between the words or figures; begin the amount in words as close as possible to the left hand side; begin the amount in figures as close as possible to the dollar sign ($); never use pencil or ink that can be rubbed out; never sign a cheque before it is used or filled out; and always write the amount in words because words are harder to alter.

Dishonouring cheques

Your cheque may (at NAB's discretion), be returned unpaid or 'dishonoured' by NAB in certain circumstances. These include: there are not enough available funds in your account to cover the amount of the cheque; there is some irregularity with your cheque, for example it is unsigned, is more than 15 months old, is post-dated (i.e. the cheque bears a date that has not arrived), or has been materially altered (e.g. by a change to the amount originally stated on it) and you may not have provided your full signature against the alteration; you have instructed NAB to stop payment of your cheque; or NAB has received notice of your mental incapacity or of your death.

NAB may charge a fee for dishonouring your cheque. The fee is also outlined in NAB's Personal Banking Fees and Charges Guide.

Third party cheques

When a cheque is presented for payment into the account of, or to, a person other than the nominated payee it is called a third party cheque.

Whether the cheque is open or crossed, NAB will carefully establish whether the bearer is entitled to hold the cheque. If we pay an unauthorised person, NAB may be liable to the drawer or true owner, unless we have acted in good faith and without negligence. If it is an 'order' cheque, it must be endorsed by the payee on the reverse side.