Can you cash oversized checks

As recounted by Snopes , despite being entirely untrue, the story is often cited as an example of unusual things people have carved checks onto. It does raise an interesting issue of what exactly a check is. According to Brian Black, onetime managing director of operations and technology at the Bank Administration Institute ,.

In regards to giant checks, when asked about them, a spokeswoman for iWon online sweepstakes, Samantha Better, said that their winners are also given regular sized checks for their own convenience that they can cash instead.

Going on to say that most opt to keep their giant check as a souvenir rather than go through the hassle of actually trying to cash it. That being said, many banks have small print in their terms stating that they can reject any non-standard payments, so while the giant novelty checks are technically legal and valid to cash, those banks can, if they choose, reject them.

Since you almost certainly clicked this to read about someone cashing a stupid check, we want to tell you about, Patrick Combs. Paper might not even be a necessity. There are plenty of stories out there, no doubt some of them apocryphal, of people writing checks on cocktail napkins, doors, human flesh and the shirt off their back that one supposedly got sent to the IRS , and having them accepted.

Table of Contents. The Type of Check Matters. Try Your Own Bank. Cashing a Check at an ATM. Retailers and Check-Cashing Stores. Cashing Postdated Checks. By Justin Pritchard. Justin Pritchard, CFP, is a fee-only advisor and an expert on personal finance. He covers banking, loans, investing, mortgages, and more for The Balance. He has an MBA from the University of Colorado, and has worked for credit unions and large financial firms, in addition to writing about personal finance for more than two decades.

Learn about our editorial policies. Reviewed by Amy Drury. Article Reviewed September 06, Learn about our Financial Review Board. Article Sources. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for TheBalance. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. Some banks may decide to cash it anyway as a favor to a long-time customer, but that is entirely at the bank's discretion.

Another reason a bank may not be able to cash a check that is too old is that the routing number of the institution issuing the check may have changed as a result of a merger or acquisition.

If you try to cash a post-dated check one with a future date on it and a bank refuses to cash it, the bank may be following instructions from the person who wrote the check. When someone gives advanced written notice to your bank to not cash a post-dated check, the request is valid for six months under state law.

Oral notice is valid for only 14 days. Banks are obligated to follow these requests from their clients strictly. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Consumer Finance. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Is this allowed?

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