Can i certify a cheque given to me

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What does this mean for you? It's simple: we will never steer you in the wrong direction just because a company offers to pay us. Years ago, people wrote personal checks for everything from an oil change to the grocery store. Try writing a personal check to your mechanic or grocery clerk now.

There are times, however, when checks are necessary. This is the purpose of a certified check. A certified check is a personal check written by a bank account holder that has been verified and guaranteed by the issuing bank. The bank then verifies that the funds are available and stamps the check as certified by the institution. Because the bank has certified that the money is in the account, they then set aside that amount within your checking account.

This is why certified checks are a popular form of money transfer for large amounts of cash where a debit or credit card may not be appropriate or feasible. The answer is where the money originates. With a certified check, the bank verifies that the money is in your checking account, and the funds are drawn when the check is deposited or cashed. It starts out just like any other check. The first thing you need to do is fill out the amount, the intended recipient, and sign it. Then, take the check to your bank, and a bank representative will certify it for you.

That is, the bank representative will verify you have that money in your account, put that money on hold and, usually, stamp the check as being certified by the bank. The bank then guarantees that amount to the recipient of the check. You must have a checking account to obtain one. A money order may also be an option, though money orders usually have a limit to their value.

So, what could go wrong? If you take it to your bank, and it happens to be a different bank, your bank might give you cash immediately. However, the funds have not yet been collected from the other bank. If you go to the bank that the funds are drawn on, the money comes out of that account immediately. What happens if you deposit or cash the check at your bank?

If your business accepts checks from customers regularly, contacting banks for every check is not practical. Automated check verification services can help you figure out if you're likely to get paid, but they don't necessarily verify recent account balances. Instead, those services flag accounts and people who have a history of writing bad checks—and that's useful information. Some services even guarantee payment if they fail to alert you to a bad check. Unfortunately, there is no simple, free tool for consumers to verify checks online.

You need to contact the particular bank that the funds are drawn on or the check issuer , and the bank needs to be willing to accommodate your request.

In addition to asking banks for information, some basic detective work can help you determine if a check is likely to be a fake. Banks should usually be able to verify a check for you within a few minutes over the phone. You might have to take the time to go to the branch in person, however, as some banks require this. There are some paid services for check verification available online, but these are usually best suited to businesses' needs.

There are no simple, free online tools that general consumers can use for check verification. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Better Business Bureau. Wells Fargo. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. What Rights Do I Have? With a cashier's check, the check writer simply pays the bank the amount of the check at the teller window, or by having the funds withdrawn out of their account online, and the bank or credit union writes out a cashier's check to the recipient.

When the funds from a cashier's check are disbursed, the money comes out of the bank's account, and not the check writer's personal account. That's the exact opposite of a certified check. With either a cashier's check or a certified check, the payee knows at once that the money is guaranteed, and that's all he or she is likely to care about. Financial fraudsters have increasingly turned to issuing bogus certified checks designed to scam recipients, who often have no recourse when they're victimized by check fraud.

Given advances in imaging technologies these days, scammers can easily design a check that looks legitimate and passes muster at first glance. That's why when you receive a certified check, it is a good idea to call the issuing bank as soon as you receive the check and verify the check's legitimacy.

Call the bank, cite the check number and the issuer's name, and make sure they can verify the check is legitimate.

Even though certified checks are guaranteed, fraudulent checks can come back to haunt recipients even if they take aggressive steps to check for fraud. To cut the risk of being victimized by a fraudulent certified check, the payee can take several action steps:. Through their guarantee of payment, certified checks are a valuable financial payment tool for the check writer, the recipient and the bank -- which earns fees on the processing of the certified check.

Certified checks may not be foolproof, but they do provide a heavy dose of reassurance that payments made on a check are legitimate and that both parties need not worry about payments on a certified check. Receive full access to our market insights, commentary, newsletters, breaking news alerts, and more. I agree to TheMaven's Terms and Policy.