Can I write a cheque to myself?

[mykalberta]

Not sure if this is legal or not, cant see why it wouldnt - and no one has ever said anything.

Instead of paying bank transfer fees I often write cheques to myself from different banks to move money around using their free chequing option.

[CaramonLS]

ATB is a bit of a bitch when it comes to cheque clearing. I had to fight pretty hard with them to get up to $1000 cleared instantly on my paycheque. And it is from a pretty reputable institution which makes weekly deposits.

Oh and I've only held an account with them for 7 years.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

ATB is a bit of a bitch when it comes to cheque clearing. I had to fight pretty hard with them to get up to $1000 cleared instantly on my paycheque. And it is from a pretty reputable institution which makes weekly deposits.

Oh and I've only held an account with them for 7 years.

+++++1.

Its the reason I moved all my day to day banking to PC. They decided to hold my bonus cheque last year for 14 days. It was 10x my normal cheque but it came from the same place.

That and their changing the limits for free banking to more than $1000 required.

[Deegee]

Our Credit Union has ATM holds until 2pm the next business day.

No matter how long you have been a member.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

ATB is a bit of a bitch when it comes to cheque clearing. I had to fight pretty hard with them to get up to $1000 cleared instantly on my paycheque. And it is from a pretty reputable institution which makes weekly deposits.

Oh and I've only held an account with them for 7 years.

Don't get me started on the ATB. ... too late.....


In my business I conduct the banking for some of my clients; in the course of a month I deal with nearly every major bank in Alberta.

I can tell you things like; RBC is the worst for business service charges, CIBC and Scotia do not have convenient locations, the TD despite their long hours always has line ups, etc…

But the most alarming discovery I have made is that the Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB) are the best place to launder money. Now, this should not to be construed that I do launder money or that I encourage it; but if I have figured it out, certainly the criminals have as well.

Case in point:

For one of my clients I deposit payroll cheques and sometimes cash (hotshot) on behalf of the employees. One particular employee deals with the ATB. His cheques were continually being held. The only explanation they gave was “that’s the way we do it”.

I asked once; “These cheques are going in on a regular basis without any NSF problems. Doesn’t that constitute a good record and further cheques should be accessible right away?” …. Answer: NO.

We then we switched to doing certified cheques for this employee, yet the issue continued. So I asked them; “Why on earth would you hold “certified funds”, they are the same as cash?” To which they said; “With the amount of cheque fraud, we must still wait for the funds to clear.” Huh? The money has already “cleared” at the bank it is drawn on.

I then asked; “What if I deposited cash?” Response; “Cash is ok.” So I asked; “What identification would I need to provide?” …. Response; “None.”
Which is odd, since at every other bank when I deposit cash to someone else’s’ account I have to produce my drivers license and they record the number. This is to prevent, discourage and track money laundering.

The ATB’s rules are encouraging businesses to move away from cheques and use cash. They have created a very friendly environment for the criminals. I wonder if it is just coincidence that they are completely regulated by the Alberta Government.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Don't get me started on the ATB. ... too late.....


In my business I conduct the banking for some of my clients; in the course of a month I deal with nearly every major bank in Alberta.

I can tell you things like; RBC is the worst for business service charges, CIBC and Scotia do not have convenient locations, the TD despite their long hours always has line ups, etc…

But the most alarming discovery I have made is that the Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB) are the best place to launder money. Now, this should not to be construed that I do launder money or that I encourage it; but if I have figured it out, certainly the criminals have as well.

Case in point:

For one of my clients I deposit payroll cheques and sometimes cash (hotshot) on behalf of the employees. One particular employee deals with the ATB. His cheques were continually being held. The only explanation they gave was “that’s the way we do it”.

I asked once; “These cheques are going in on a regular basis without any NSF problems. Doesn’t that constitute a good record and further cheques should be accessible right away?” …. Answer: NO.

We then we switched to doing certified cheques for this employee, yet the issue continued. So I asked them; “Why on earth would you hold “certified funds”, they are the same as cash?” To which they said; “With the amount of cheque fraud, we must still wait for the funds to clear.” Huh? The money has already “cleared” at the bank it is drawn on.

Welcome to the greedy/useless world of Canadian banking and their sneaky (which nobody in this ffing election campaign has touched) interests.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...ht=money+order

My responses in the UK (my brother works for a bank) were either (1) Gross incompetence, (2) Bank is ripping you off (3) You've been in Canada 4 days since you ordered the money order. It's already been drawn against an account therefore it's been cleared!

Also: When you start to pay a mortgage the % interest goes down

[guzzy]

of course he can....if he wants to be charged with fraud.

[Prototype]

I release amount is a form of credit. They don't release funds from the cheque... banks just release funds. Credit history is one way to get a better release amount. Account history is another.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by First Lady

I then asked; “What if I deposited cash?” Response; “Cash is ok.” So I asked; “What identification would I need to provide?” …. Response; “None.”
Which is odd, since at every other bank when I deposit cash to someone else’s’ account I have to produce my drivers license and they record the number. This is to prevent, discourage and track money laundering.

I have never been asked for ID when depositing cash into somebody else's account. I do it semi-regularly for my girlfriend at TD, and in the past I have done it for room mates at Royal Bank and Scotia Bank.

Now, I might have to pull a move like on "Office Space" and actually look up money laundering on Google, but I think there's more than just the matter of depositing cash required to actually launder money. Doesn't it have to change hands a few times so the "dirty" money now appears to come from a "clean" source?

[cyclone3483]

Originally Posted by Flash

It has nothing to do with credit rating...it's all about the kind of account he has. If his account is new, then banks will hold all deposits through the ATM to make sure they clear, even cash since the ATM cannot distinguish between a cheque and cash. Most banks will cash a payroll cheque at the teller, which would give your friend incentive to get to the bank instead of using the ATM. Better yet, if he were to have his cheques directly deposited to his bank account.

If he's short like that, he could always go to a pay day loan place...I used to work for one, and they have you write a cheque out to yourself and leave it with them to be withdrawn on payday...but with that said, if he's depositing his cheques through the ATM and it's taking 6 business days to clear, the chances of the cheque to the payday loan place bouncing are pretty good.

And to answer the question...writing a cheque when you know you don't have the funds to cover the face value of the cheque is considered fraud.

I am an accountant (CMA) and my father worked for the Bank fo Nova Scotia for, well, forever...Flash is correct in everything he just said, including the last, most important point.

If you write a cheque to yourself when you know that you don't have the funds, you have commited fraud. Depending on the amount you are defrauding and the frequency of fraudulent activity, your bank could potentially bring charges against you. Even if the result is a slap on the wrist, you will have a lot of trouble with credit through banking institutions in the future.

The bottom line, don't do it. You'd be better to pay the service charge at the payday loan place than risk it (even though I'd only go to the payday loan place if I food or shelter were a concern).

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Don't get me started on the ATB. ... too late.....


In my business I conduct the banking for some of my clients; in the course of a month I deal with nearly every major bank in Alberta.

I can tell you things like; RBC is the worst for business service charges, CIBC and Scotia do not have convenient locations, the TD despite their long hours always has line ups, etc…

But the most alarming discovery I have made is that the Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB) are the best place to launder money. Now, this should not to be construed that I do launder money or that I encourage it; but if I have figured it out, certainly the criminals have as well.

Case in point:

For one of my clients I deposit payroll cheques and sometimes cash (hotshot) on behalf of the employees. One particular employee deals with the ATB. His cheques were continually being held. The only explanation they gave was “that’s the way we do it”.

I asked once; “These cheques are going in on a regular basis without any NSF problems. Doesn’t that constitute a good record and further cheques should be accessible right away?” …. Answer: NO.

We then we switched to doing certified cheques for this employee, yet the issue continued. So I asked them; “Why on earth would you hold “certified funds”, they are the same as cash?” To which they said; “With the amount of cheque fraud, we must still wait for the funds to clear.” Huh? The money has already “cleared” at the bank it is drawn on.

I then asked; “What if I deposited cash?” Response; “Cash is ok.” So I asked; “What identification would I need to provide?” …. Response; “None.”
Which is odd, since at every other bank when I deposit cash to someone else’s’ account I have to produce my drivers license and they record the number. This is to prevent, discourage and track money laundering.

The ATB’s rules are encouraging businesses to move away from cheques and use cash. They have created a very friendly environment for the criminals. I wonder if it is just coincidence that they are completely regulated by the Alberta Government.

No ID required up to $3000. Over that you need ID. Money laundering for $3000 isn't really worth it.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

No ID required up to $3000. Over that you need ID. Money laundering for $3000 isn't really worth it.

The amount varies from bank to bank. At RBC I always have to cough up my ID when depositing to someone else's account.

The last time I made a large deposit to ATB it was well over 3K and it wasn't that long ago. Thankfully though, the employee has changed banks.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Now, I might have to pull a move like on "Office Space" and actually look up money laundering on Google, but I think there's more than just the matter of depositing cash required to actually launder money. Doesn't it have to change hands a few times so the "dirty" money now appears to come from a "clean" source?

I don't know the ins and outs about the whole laundering process either.

But it seems to me once you can deposit it somewhere and there is no record of where it came from, then the government or bank can't trace it back to any one individual. There would be no evidence.

Once it is deposited, it can be moved several times electronically; they can trace that but it always ends up back at an "unknown" source.