Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site watmath.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!ljdickey
From: ljdickey@watmath.UUCP (Lee Dickey)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: check guarantee cards
Message-ID: <8782@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-Aug-84 10:39:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: watmath.8782
Posted: Mon Aug 27 10:39:30 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 27-Aug-84 23:59:45 EDT
References: <150@whuxl.UUCP>, <1324@qubix.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 21

Mark Callow, in writing about government ID cards, mentions:
> Other than making sure I took my cheque guarantee card when 
> going shopping, I never ever carried any form of ID in Britain.  

The British cheque guarantee cards are marvelous things.
They allow the holder to cash a check at every major bank in Britain,
no matter which bank carries the account and issued the card.
To use such a card, you had to have your own personalize checks and 
your card issued by the same bank.  When you use the card for id, 
you give up the right to stop payment on the check.  The advantage
for a merchant is that it gives complete security in accepting your 
check.  But that is not all.

It also allows you to cash checks at many major banks in Europe...
guaranteed within a certain group of member banks in participating
countries.  Because of the popularity of the system, many banks
outside the group and also outside the defined set of countries
accept the cards, because the make a commission on the exchange
and incur little risk in dealing with you, a trusted holder of
a checking account.