What Is A Counter Credit On Your Bank Statment

COUNTER CREDIT ON MY BANK STATEMENT

What is a counter credit and why is it on my bank statement?

How many times have you actually looked at your bank statement? Either paper or online version.

As a personal finance blogger, I probably check my bank statement maybe 2 to 3 times per week. Yes, this might be overkill but it works for me.

I bet for most people though it is once per month maximum. OK, So here is another question. How many times have you checked your bank statement and seen something you don’t recognise? Either a payment you don’t recognise or a code or abbreviation you don’t understand.

Again I think this would probably be quite common. When you don’t check your bank statements that often it can be a little confusing when you see codes or abbreviations for items and you have no idea what they mean.

Just recently I had someone I know ask me what is a counter credit. Although I had a fairly good idea of what it was, I must admit I hadn’t come across it in any of my bank statements and I did do a bit of checking online as you do.

Some of my posts may contain affiliate links. This simply means if you purchase something after clicking one of the links, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Many thanks for the continued support.

WHAT IS A COUNTER CREDIT?

A counter credit or what is sometimes known as a counter deposit is exactly as it sounds. It is an in-person deposit at a bank. Someone has walked into a bank and handed over cash in person to a cashier who works for the bank.

In deposit terminology, a counter credit is the most direct way to pay money into a bank account. When paying in cash the money is instantly in the account as soon as the cashier has pushed a button.

Note: Please be aware that bank terminology does differ slightly from bank to bank. Generally though you can work out what each one is.

So now that you know what a counter credit relates to in regards to your bank statement let’s look at why people still do counter credits. We can also look at the pros and cons of using counter credit in our modern online banking life.

WHY IS COUNTER CREDIT STILL USED?

Counter-credit is still used by lots of people. The older generation is unsure how online banking works despite the bank’s best efforts with TV advertising to help them.

Not only the older generation but some people when handling money just like to do things the old-fashioned way. This means depositing real cash in person to a cashier.

I used to always do this instead of putting cash into an envelope and putting it into the cashpoint which always seemed a little off to me.

I can’t remember the last time I had any real-life money in my wallet. Some people, however, still deal in cash every day and cash deposits or counter credit is part of their day-to-day.

PROS OF A CREDIT/CASH DEPOSIT

As mentioned above lots of people still deal in cash which means a counter credit or deposit is the ideal way to deal with their money.

This is pretty much the only pro for still dealing with this form of deposit in a world of online banking.

I have to admit that I hate putting money into the ATM and haven’t done this for many years. Not once has anything gone wrong but I have heard of people getting their money chewed up or lost using this method and it is not something I wish to experience.

I also do occasionally baulk at doing any kind of large transactions online. Anything over a few hundred pounds always sets my heart racing when doing it online. Technically it is just numbers on a screen so I shouldn’t worry. I do, however.

These reasons and more are why some people still prefer to hand over their cash in person in a bank branch to an experienced cashier. You even know their names should something not be right you have a reference point to go to.

Cash deposits do also mean the money is in the bank account instantly. This does not always happen with online banking where it can take up to 2 hours sometimes and some transactions can even take days.

CONS OF COUNTER CREDIT/CASH DEPOSIT

A waste of my precious time. We all now spend time doing everything quickly. Our lives have been made so much easier with smart devices and our jobs are so much more fast-paced.

We certainly don’t have time to waste driving to our local bank. Not only that but although we are British we no longer want to stand in a queue patiently.

I can’t stand in any queue for more than 5 minutes without having a good moan about the time it is taking. What if people are queuing out of the door? No, thank you.

Online banking has filled a time spent queuing void I didn’t know needed filling.

It has made everything so much quicker and easier that even thinking about driving to the bank makes me tired.

Half of the transactions I do are not even with the bank. I use Paypal religiously and Bacs transfers for anything else.

Paypal is used by everyone in my family as well so there is just no need for me to go to the bank at all.

Whilst writing this article I did try and think about the last time I was in any bank let alone my actual branch which isn’t even in the city I live in now. It is around 20 miles away from my house so why on earth I would even venture over to my branch is beyond me.

So now you know what it means when you see the words Counter credit on your bank statement although I may have put you off ever looking at your statement again.

COMMON BANK ABBREVIATIONS

I am going to leave you with a few of the more common bank abbreviations and bank references that you may see on your current account or savings statements or online. Hopefully, this will help and stop you from getting confused or franticly searching google the next time you search your statement.

• APR (The Annual percentage rate you are charged on things such as credit cards.
• BP (bill payment)
• CHG (Charge, So any form of charge on your account)
• DD/DDR (Direct Debit)
• DWP (Department for work and pensions)
• IBAN (International bank account number)
• ISA (Individual savings account)
• OTR (Online banking transaction)
• SO (Standing order)
• TFR (Transfer, usually between accounts)

COUNTER CREDIT ON MY BANK STATEMENT

I hope that some of these more common bank abbreviations and bank references have helped you understand your statement a little better.

TFR is the one I see most on mine due to transferring funds from my current account into my Emergency fund savings.

At the very least you should understand a little more about what is going on within your statement which means you don’t have to panic every time you see a code or abbreviation you don’t recognise.