Founded in , Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. All of our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions.
We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. You have money questions. Bankrate has answers.
Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
In most cases, you will have to come in person and provide your government-issued photo ID to prove your identity before the bank will print you a check. If your check is lost or stolen, you might be able to cancel it or recoup the money, but this could also involve filling out a report for your bank and paying a fee for the loss. Different banks, however, have their own limits on the amount of time these checks are valid. When making larger payments, there are a lot of different options that can get a little confusing.
Certified checks are personal checks that are certified by a bank, meaning the bank has proven you have the funds to back up the payment.
Money is drawn from your account, not held by the bank, when you use a certified check. Money orders also come from banks or credit unions but can also be purchased at third-party locations such as grocery stores and post offices. You might be able to use this to track the check.
If you don't have a checking account at a bank or credit union, you might need to open one. If opening a bank account isn't practical, a money order might be your next-best option. See the best checking accounts. The bank certifies that the signature is genuine and that the customer had sufficient funds to cover the check when it was issued.
Here are tips on when you should use a certified check. Money orders are a prepaid type of payment restricted by a maximum amount , such as the U.
Here's the lowdown on when it makes sense to use a money order. Some financial institutions offer reduced fees or no fees for certain account holders. Many sell them only to account holders. Here's a list of official check fees at popular banks. Ally Bank. Bank of America. Capital One Chase Bank. Discover Bank. Navy Federal Credit Union. Pentagon Federal Credit Union. PNC Bank. Santander Bank. TD Bank. US Bank. Wells Fargo. Preferred and Primary Portfolio Checking account holders.
If you do receive one, wait to use the funds until several days after the check has been deposited, or check with your bank to make sure it has cleared. Canceling a cashier's check is generally not an option. You can find me on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter seemomwrite.
He has more than a decade of experience as personal finance editor, writer and content strategist. Select Region. United States. United Kingdom. Rebecca Lake, Mitch Strohm. Contributor, Editor. Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. This can help you avoid insufficient funds, overdraft and returned payment fees.
Funds availability may be faster. Banks have funds availability policies that determine when deposits will clear. For instance, it can take some payments up to five business days to clear, or longer for large deposits. Security is increased.
You usually have to visit your bank branch. This could be difficult to do if you need to make a payment outside of regular banking hours. Was this article helpful?
0コメント