Can I write a cheque to myself? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

SteveToms · 10-08-2008, 04:51 PM

Hey all, I was talking at a friend in class today, and he was wondering since his bank is holding his last pay cheque for 6 business days, could he write a cheque to himself so he can take money out?

burn_this_city · 10-08-2008, 04:53 PM

No unless he had overdraft for the amount. Then he'd just be able to deposit and withdraw as he wished.

RW99 · 10-08-2008, 05:01 PM

No.

It's called kiting and is technically fraud ASAIK.

Mean Mr. Mustard · 10-08-2008, 05:05 PM

How could he write a cheque, if he doesn't have any money in his bank account as is? If he writes a bad cheque doesn't he get fata'd with bank fees and crap?

CaptainCrunch · 10-08-2008, 05:06 PM

Is he from Nigeria? Is he a member of the royal family?

octothorp · 10-08-2008, 05:14 PM

I did that from time to time when I was an impoverished student when I was stuck between paycheques, but in retrospect for the credit hit and fees that I was hit with, I don't know why I didn't just use payday loans.

Wookie · 10-08-2008, 05:20 PM

haha, I used to do it before my allowance cheques would come. As an under 18 year old. I think CIBC actually gave me the boot.

nickerjones · 10-08-2008, 05:42 PM

if i go in the bank because i dont my card on me they print me a check that i write to myself to withdraw money

MoneyGuy · 10-08-2008, 05:44 PM

Two answers:

Question in the thread title: Yes, you can write a cheque to yourself. But don't be doing it the way your post says. Fraud!

SteveToms · 10-08-2008, 05:46 PM

Thanks guys, I guess I get to buy the drinks tonight.

This brings up a interesting question.

Why does it take 6 business days to clear a cheque?

HOOT · 10-08-2008, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Thanks guys, I guess I get to buy the drinks tonight.

This brings up a interesting question.

Why does it take 6 business days to clear a cheque?

Poor credit rating?

RougeUnderoos · 10-08-2008, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Hey all, I was talking at a friend in class today, and he was wondering since his bank is holding his last pay cheque for 6 business days, could he write a cheque to himself so he can take money out?

He should get another bank and if he does this, he might have to.

Why the hell does it take more than a week for his cheque to clear? That's pretty crappy.

octothorp · 10-08-2008, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Thanks guys, I guess I get to buy the drinks tonight.

This brings up a interesting question.

Why does it take 6 business days to clear a cheque?

A surprising amount of the banking system is, believe it or not, still paper-based. All these checks need to be collected, checked by the receiving banks against the ATM record, then sorted, sent via high security to the bank that the check is issued from, and then checked again for authenticity by that bank. If you have a poor credit rating, your bank will wait until confirmation from the issuing bank before releasing the funds.

Coach · 10-08-2008, 06:39 PM

If you have a record of good banking you can call your home branch and ask them if they can release it early. I had the same problem a little while ago and i just talked to them and they were like "Yup youve never given us a bad cheque before so we can release it in advance"

HOOT · 10-08-2008, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyC

If you have a record of good banking you can call your home branch and ask them if they can release it early. I had the same problem a little while ago and i just talked to them and they were like "Yup youve never given us a bad cheque before so we can release it in advance"

I don't think I have ever had to ask. When I put a check in the machine I can ask for it right back up to $1,500. It was what I had with TD and when I switched to RBC they gave me the same deal.

Coach · 10-08-2008, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOOT

I don't think I have ever had to ask. When I put a check in the machine I can ask for it right back up to $1,500. It was what I had with TD and when I switched to RBC they gave me the same deal.

Well I dont know how old you are and I'm 19 so that could have something to do with it. But they were very easy going about it so that was nice. Im with Scotiabank BTW

Ice · 10-08-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by octothorp

A surprising amount of the banking system is, believe it or not, still paper-based. All these checks need to be collected, checked by the receiving banks against the ATM record, then sorted, sent via high security to the bank that the check is issued from, and then checked again for authenticity by that bank. If you have a poor credit rating, your bank will wait until confirmation from the issuing bank before releasing the funds.

I wouldn't say a poor credit rating as much as a poor account history. If you have an account where your balance has been frequently overdrawn or you have a lot of returned items or returned deposited items, any checks deposited by you are subject to an extended hold. While it only takes two business days for a check to clear, it can take up to ten days for your bank to receive notification that a deposited item is being returned, and that's where the risk is.

People who manage their checking account properly don't generally have checks placed on hold unless they meet specific risk criteria, an unusually large dollar amount, personal check drawn on a bank out of your district, etc.

KTown · 10-08-2008, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveToms

Thanks guys, I guess I get to buy the drinks tonight.

This brings up a interesting question.

Why does it take 6 business days to clear a cheque?

It all depends on how much your bank trusts you, my bank clears my cheques right away and quite a big amount too. I've been with the same bank since I was 8 years old so thats 21 years.

Iceman90 · 10-08-2008, 08:29 PM

I think you can write a cheque to yourself and be OK, it depends how and why you do it. I recently signed up for a President's Choice Savings account, and to get it activated, I needed to write myself a cheque and mail it to them.

Flash · 10-08-2008, 08:31 PM

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.

My bank used to hold my deposits as well, until I complained about it...I've now been with the same bank for over 10 years, and they don't hold anything deposited through the ATM up to $10,000 (I wish! LOL).

I know someone who is older than I am, makes more money than I do, and he just switched banks from CIBC to TD, and since his account with them is brand new, they're holding all deposits through the ATM for 5 business days until he gets more history with the bank.

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.