Paying with a check is less common nowadays that it used to be, but it is still a perfectly valid for of payment for many products and services that is not documented enough. Many people have questions about checks that go beyond the typical “How to write a check”, such as “how to endorse a check to someone else” or what is the difference between different types of guarantee checks.
How Do You Endorse A Check To Somebody Else
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Wondering what is and how to endorse a check to somebody else? Endorsing a check to somebody else means making a check that is made out to you payable to a particular third party. You may need to sign over a check to somebody else without being present if, for example, the check was made to the wrong person and you can’t cash the check yourself and hand the money to the other person.
Unusual personalised check
In order to endorse a check to somebody else the most common way is applying a restrictive endorsement on the back of the check. This is done by writing on the back of the check “Pay to the order of <>” and signing it. Then the person named can cash the check and deposit it into his or her account.
Some banks will refuse to cash checks endorsed this way, for fear of fraud. However, if the person goes to a financial institution where they are known, like their regular bank, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Another alternative to endorsing a check to somebody else would be returning the check to the originator, and asking for them to make a new one payable to the correct person. You could also cash the check and transfer the funds to the person that should have received them in the first place, or write them a check yourself.
Certified Check vs Cashiers Check
Both certified checks and cashier’s checks are guaranteed to be paid when cashed, as in both cases the bank certifies they will pay no matter the status of the originator’s accounts.
A certified check starts its life as an obligation of the bank customer, which orders the bank to make payable a certain amount from his account to the person cashing the check. The paying bank certifies payment for that check once it’s presented, and in order to do that they will take money out of the depositor’s checking account and put it into the bank’s “certified checks outstanding” account, to guarantee payment. The bank will stamp and date the check to indicate that it has been certified, and often a bank official will also sign it.
A cashier’s check is similar but it’s issued by the own bank, and not by an account holder. Cashier’s checks are often used to pay customers, or to transfer the funds from a loan and the money will come from the bank account and not the “certified checks outstanding” account. While on the topic of cashier’s checks, If you are asking yourself “do cashiers checks expire?” the answer is “technically no, but the bank may make it very difficult to cash that old check you found in a book, issued 30 years ago”.
Can I Buy A Blank Cashier’s Check?
A blank cashier’s check is one where the payee is not specified at the time the check is issued. Banks don’t issue blank cashier’s checks, and you will need to know the name of the payee when you buy it.
If you are unsure of the name of the payee at the time of issuing the check, you can either buy a cashier’s check addressed to yourself and follow the instructions in this article about how to endorse a check over to someone else, or you can purchase a personal money order instead.
Do you want more questions about checks that you want answered? Just ask on the comments and we’ll try to help!