My credit union has been hassling me lately and insists there be the account number the check is being deposited into written along with the endorsement. They say there’s no way to credit the proper account when it’s processed.
When I used to work for Washington Mutual, we had no such requirement and the deposits made it safely into the account after going through clearings.
So is this kosher? Can the CU require this? If so, I’ll have to take my business elsewhere. If not, is there any regulation that covers this?
You are being given a story to cover an internal process at your CU. The reality is that CU processing systems are real time. That means that when they give you the receipt, the money has already been posted. I suspect the primary reason they write the account number on the check is to help the teller figure out what they did wrong if they do not balance at the end of the day.
Are these deposits going through the ATM or a teller? If the former, there’s no need to write the account number on the check because the machine knows and prints it on the envelope anyway. (However, it doesn’t hurt to write it, on the off-chance that the envelope gets mangled or some other disaster occurs.)
If it’s going through the teller, it’s probably just required for extra redundancy.
Well, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing in the Uniform Commercial code telling them they can or can’t do that.
Banks can impose all kinds of silly requirements if they like.
Now as far as federal regs on banks, you’re free to browse through them, at this helpful site: http://www.federalreserve.gov/regulations/
but I’ve read through the entirety of that text (4 years ago, mind you) and saw nothing requiring or barring such bank policy.
My personal account at a credit union does not require this. But my business account at a “regular” bank does require the account number. Actually it requires a stamp that includes the account number but I have handed a check to a teller before when I didn’t have my stamp with me and she wrote the account number on the back.
For the sake of convenience, I have both my personal and corporate accts at B of A. I also use the ATM almost exclusively. With their old ATMs, no acct # on the checks were necessary. With their new ones, the ATMs scan a copy of your check and show it to you on screen, then print out the scanned image on your receipt. Those REALLY don’t need your acct #. =)
So while your credit union can pretty much do whatever they want if you want to keep your bank account there, you should realize there are alternatives. Heck, go to a major bank and just transfer your money to an online bank (like ING.com, and no I don’t work for them), and keep just enough in your checking acct to avoid any fees.
Heck, none of the banks I have accounts at even require an endorsement. I sometimes deposit several checks at once and have gotten out of the habit of endorsing them all. I do always use a deposit slip. That is required at all the banks.
Not with B of A ATM machines. Didn’t need them before the new system, and don’t need them now. Not shilling for them, I just like how easy it is to make deposits via the ATM.
ANd yes I write “for deposit only” above my signature as well. (Underneath isn’t as secure, from what I understand… could have been someone else’s signature that you endorsed the check to, and they just crossed it out and yours is still the first thing there. If the first thing is crossed out… it’s a lot fishier. Could be a load of bull but that’s how I learned it.)
Bummer. Looks like another reason I need to look elsewhere. About the only thing going for the CU is that they give me immediate credit on deposits at the ATM. My WaMu account gives me the typical $100 credit and holds the rest for 2 days
I’d say that’s a far sight more valuable (compared to most bank policies) than quibbling about writing account numbers. Most banks will shorten or eliminate their float if you go in and give a blow job to the manager, but only on a check by check basis. I’d say stick with your CU on that one.
That said, encourage them to invest in the new envelope-less, deposit slip-less, scanning ATMs. They rock.
The bank I used to work at had this “requirement”. Most customers would write their account numbers, but if they didn’t, they would get a reminder and then I’d write it on there for them. A signature on a deposited check was unnecessary, although I suspect the acct# wasn’t strictly necessary either since it was accompanied by a deposit slip – just an internal processing thing, as mentioned.
Also, gotta agree that immediate credit on ATM deposits is probably pretty rare. If they could, banks wouldn’t even credit the first $100 immediately, but they are required to by law.
Not so easy if you have checks from foreign countries. I routinely get checks from Canada that aren’t accepted by the new ATM. So now I can’t use the ATMs for those deposits. Not a terribly big deal, since I usually just bring all my deposits to the drive-up window anyway, but it’s a minor PITA.
Am I the only person who’s now considering a career in banking?
My ATM deposits are always cleared the next business day. Just need to be at bank for a while and not bounce checks. (My bank stopped holding my checks after 4 weeks, actually.)
I used to be at Union Bank of California… and for 2 years they put holds on my checks. When I complained, they said the only way to get around the hold was to cash the check at the issuing bank and then deposit the cash.
I did that… once. And they charged me a fee – I swear I’m not making this up – for depositing a large number of bills that they then had to count and double check. Apparently all cash deposits over a certain amt were charged for this.
Heh. My bank doesn’t even require me to get my account number right on my deposit slip…no point in discussing what I put on the checks I’m depositing. I ran out of the nifty preprinted deposit slips that came with my checkbook, so I was using the generic slip from the bank lobby. Go up to make my deposit, only to have the teller smile and say “Um, Mr Andatruck, that’s the bank routing number. This is your account number.” (She fixed everything up for me.) I’ve only had the account for a little over seven years now.