I have a question and am having a bit of trouble finding my answer in the Patriot Act. I went to my dad's bank today to cash a check that he had written me. I do not have any account with this bank. My dad gives me a check for cleaning his house every week and this is the first time I have had any problems. When I went to cash it the teller said that she needed my right thumb print and two forms of ID. I gave her my driver's license and my bank debit card (it has the MC logo). She told me that this form of ID (the debit card) was not acceptable and she would need an actual credit card. I do not use any CC's except for Sam's Club, so I produced my Sam's card, which also has my pic on it. The teller than stated that I must have a bank issued CC or my Social Security card. I do not carry my SSC with me because right on the back it states not to carry this card with you. The teller stated that this was not bank policy but the government's laws. She accepted my ID's this time but she stated that from now on I must present my SSC with my DL. She also typed in my Sam's credit card number into her computer. My question is: Is the policy of this bank really the exact government policy?? What's weird is that the bank's website states that to prevent identity theft never carry your SSC with you and only carry your CC's with you if you need them!! Seems contradictory. Thank you for your help, I am so frustrated, I spent almost an hour trying to straighten this out with the bank today.

Did you ask to speak with a supervisor at the bank? As far as I know, there are no federal regulations about the types of identification required when a non-customer cashes a check. These requirements are usually bank policy.

What you should consider is having your dad call the bank and raise heck about the treatment given to his children.

Yes, I did speak with a Supervisor and she told me that the policies were not her fault. She stated that these policies were in affect throughout the USA, in every bank.

I talked to my dad about this and he said oh well, if we make a fuss we will seem unpatriotic and suspicious.

Thank you for you help, Monique

There are no federal laws that require banks to use the methods you encountered to verify the identity of the payee on a check. Actually, from your perspective, it's a bit worse than that; they can use any methods they wish. It is a toss up question as to whether the bank employees blamed it on legal requirements because they were poorly trained or they just did not want to take responsibility for their own policies.

You could write the bank's president or compliance officer to express your displeasure, noting that bank employees mislead you as to the underlying reasons for their actions. In the long run, you should open your own bank account to avoid the hassles of cashing checks at banks where you do not have a business relationship.

Monique,

I can assure you that those specific 'procedures' are NOT in effect in every bank thoughout the US - Every US bank is required to have a BSA (Bank Secrecy Act) and CIP (Customer Identification Program)policy - but their actual procedures will vary from bank to bank.
I'm curious as to how much the check was for - at our bank, if a check is over a dollar threshold, we do ask for more than one form of ID. If a non-customer presents one of our checks, we also do the thumb-print program.
It seems to me like the supervisor just wanted to brush you off - and I'm sorry to hear about your dad's response. I know we all want to be patriotic and support our troops, country, etc - but that doesn't mean we have to blindly accept what someone tells us just because they couched it as 'part of the PATRIOT Act'.

Good luck and best wishes!

Tex

Thank you to all for your help! I was so frustrated yesterday!

Ken, I do have my own bank account, but there has to be enough money in the account to cover the amount of the check to cash a personal check and my account was $13 short. From now on I think I will just deposit the check into my account. I will definitely be writing to the bank.

Tex, the check was for $120. There were three different tellers at the bank that told me these were not their policies, but the government's laws and not to blame them.

Thanks again, I appreciate your time. -Monique

Monique,

Just to clarify for you - the USA PATRIOT Act has absolutely nothing to do with check cashing - it has to do with Financial Institutions thoroughly identifying their customer, and then verifying the information given by the customer - a couple of other items as well that probably wouldn't interest you - but it has NOTHING to do with check cashing - again, I say, I think your bank has taken the easy way out - instead of explaining their bank procedure which may not be customer friendly it's easier to blame it on Uncle Sam.
Believe you me, I am no fan of PATRIOT Act, but neither do I blame all of my banks procedures on it - only the ones that are actually a result of the Act!!

I think you probably need to look for a bank that is:
A) More Customer Service Oriented
B) More up front about THEIR procedures and policies
C) Knowledgable about the actual purpose of Banking Regulations.

As a trainer it frustrates me to no end when bank employees hide behind that danged word policy - I want our customer to be able to understand why we do what we do - and if it is regulatorily driven, then explain why the Reg was enacted - Geesh - is it really that hard? If it is, maybe someone made a bad hiring decision!!

OK - getting off the soap box now!

Again best wishes and good luck!

what identification is considered acceptable to cash checks or a check i have been given for doing housework?

What type of identification is required to cash a check. I do not have a credit card and no bank account . I have a state id and that is all. What else is considered to be valid identification?