dumb banking question

marie-p · Jan 12, 2006

ok, I've had my main bank (let's call it Bank1) for quite a while and I use it for everything (withdrawals, interac payments, bill payments, savings, etc.) I love it because I pay no banking fees at all.

The only thing I can't do with this bank is receive my student loans (government's fault I think, not theirs) so I had to take an account in another bank (Bank2) only for the purpose of receiving my loans.

So every month, I've been going to Bank2's bank machine, withdrawing the loan money, walking over a few blocks to Bank1's bank machine to put it in my account. It's a little inconvenient because I have to get out of my way to go to the bank machines, plus I sometimes end up carrying $1,000 in my bag when walking between the two banks. Doesn't bother me that much, but still not ideal.

This morning I just had an idea... why don't I just write a cheque to myself instead? That would be so much simpler. I feel kind of stupid for not thinking about it sooner.

But first I want to make sure... do banks allow people to write cheques to themselves? Has anyone tried that before?

jeanor · Jan 12, 2006

I would think you could do that, but I'm not sure.

solaritybengals · Jan 12, 2006

I'm sure you can do that and it sounds like a good idea.

gil · Jan 12, 2006

Originally Posted by marie-p

ok, I've had my main bank (let's call it Bank1) for quite a while and I use it for everything (withdrawals, interac payments, bill payments, savings, etc.) I love it because I pay no banking fees at all.

The only thing I can't do with this bank is receive my student loans (government's fault I think, not theirs) so I had to take an account in another bank (Bank2) only for the purpose of receiving my loans.

So every month, I've been going to Bank2's bank machine, withdrawing the loan money, walking over a few blocks to Bank1's bank machine to put it in my account. It's a little inconvenient because I have to get out of my way to go to the bank machines, plus I sometimes end up carrying $1,000 in my bag when walking between the two banks. Doesn't bother me that much, but still not ideal.

This morning I just had an idea... why don't I just write a cheque to myself instead? That would be so much simpler. I feel kind of stupid for not thinking about it sooner.

But first I want to make sure... do banks allow people to write cheques to themselves? Has anyone tried that before?

Marie, check (no pun intended

) with your bank and ask them. I don't see why it would be a problem. You could also purchase a cashier's check or money order from B2 and deposit into B1. While these may cost a few bucks, It's really a lot safer than carrying such a large sum of cash on your person. You also don't know if someone is scoping you out as well while you make withdrawls, so I would definitely take these factors into consideration.

vibiana · Jan 12, 2006

Of course you can write a check to yourself. Just make sure you make it out to however your name appears on the other account, for convenience's sake.

When I had my first checking account in 1980, you used to be able to make a check out to "Cash" or "Bearer" if you just needed to get some money from the bank. Then they advised you to use your own name, because if you lost the check and it was made out generically like that, anybody could cash it.

Ah, the good old days. LOL

Another thing you might ask about is whether one bank will wire it to the other. There will usually be a fee involved, though if it's small enough it might be worth the convenience.

babyharley · Jan 12, 2006

I used to do that when I had 2 banks!

They let me write checks to myself from my other bank - no problems at all!

Good Luck!

rosehawke · Jan 12, 2006

I've done that before although it's been a loooooong time

. Do check with your bank, but I'm 99% sure that they'll allow it.

sammie5 · Jan 12, 2006

Marie, check (no pun intended )

That's cute, except we're talking about cheques here, not checks.

You can certainly write a cheque to yourself. However, you might run into problems if they hold the funds until the cheque clears. I would go to bank2 and see if they will set up internet banking for you, with bank1 as the payee. Then you could transfer the money directly. I know my Dad does that a lot - he uses ING banking, and they don't even have branches, so he does everything by internet banking, and he can definitely transfer money from one bank to another online.

marie-p · Jan 12, 2006

Originally Posted by Sammie5

That's cute, except we're talking about cheques here, not checks.

You can certainly write a cheque to yourself. However, you might run into problems if they hold the funds until the cheque clears. I would go to bank2 and see if they will set up internet banking for you, with bank1 as the payee. Then you could transfer the money directly. I know my Dad does that a lot - he uses ING banking, and they don't even have branches, so he does everything by internet banking, and he can definitely transfer money from one bank to another online.

Bank2 does offer internet transfer to other banks... but Bank1 is not on the list of banks I can set up a transfer to.

lunasmom · Jan 12, 2006

Yes you can write checks to yourself. I've had to do it when I was missing my ATM card. It was sort of silly, because I'd make it out to me, sign it, then sign it again on the back

You could also check to see if Bank2 does wire transfers to Bank1. Normally it costs less then a money order and for the convenience sake of not carrying money and also the inconvenience of not being able to online bank it.

gailc · Jan 12, 2006

I too was going to suggest that bank2 wire the money into your account at bank1. The other route is to write a check (cheque) to yourself and deposit at bank1. Or open a checking account at bank 2???

katl8e · Jan 12, 2006

I routinely move funds from my bank checking account to my credit union savings account. I simply write a check, made out to ABCD Credit Union acct#12345, endorse the back and deposit it.

bikeman · Jan 12, 2006

Check transfers are a good and safer idea than cash. Always done that myself, writing checks from one account to another. The only problem is that you need to wait a certain period for the funds to be collected at the bank the money will end up in.

There is still a float time issue, no matter what you hear from the media and new banking laws (here in the US). If you write a check to yourself on a thursday afternoon and carry it over and deposit it immediately, the funds might not be available for use until the following monday or tuesday.

However, this is not true of cash transfers. The funds are avaiable for use immediately, as long as the bank teller tags the deposit as such (they don't always).

wellingtoncats · Jan 13, 2006

I deposit money into my account and then transfer it via internet banking to my mums account. Since I'm under 18 there are no fees involved. Yay!!

dumb banking question

marie-p

TCS Member

Thread starter

jeanor

TCS Member

solaritybengals

TCS Member

gil

TCS Member

vibiana

TCS Member

babyharley

TCS Member

rosehawke

TCS Member

sammie5

TCS Member

marie-p

TCS Member

Thread starter

lunasmom

TCS Member

gailc

TCS Member

katl8e

TCS Member

bikeman

TCS Member

wellingtoncats

TCS Member

Latest Posts

Connect with us