If you have still an english account and your customer is in england of course get them to pay into your account by giro in cash at the same bank (Barclays, Nat west etc) as if it is the same bank your money will be shown as a deposit on the same day. Then you can check it is there via internet banking, assuming you have that of course. I do this and it works well. If the customer pays in by cheque then of course you need clearing time to be sure your funds are there. Swift payments are quite good and often arrive the same day but can take up to 3 days to arrive. Maureen