Letter: Bank delays

Sir: Several friends of mine who work in banks have lost their jobs in recent years along with thousands of their colleagues. They are replaced by automatic systems based on computers. A computer can verify the state of my credit in seconds from a Tesco check-out desk.

Can anyone explain to me why a bank cannot verify the credit of a cheque I pay in to my account for what they euphemistically call four working days? The system seems classically designed by banks to hold on to money and gather its interest.

MERVYN BENFORD

Shutford,

Oxfordshire