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#1371728 - 04/09/10 01:51 PM Sale of official check
GottaLuvIt Offline
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 48
Would appreciate feedback on the following scenario:

Your bank customer presents a large check payable to themselves and requests to purchase multiple official checks with it. The check is from an account at another bank. (Large check being defined as in excess of $10,000)

To thicken the plot, your customer states that the payee on all of the official checks will the same individual.

How would you handle the transaction if your customer had a deposit account with your bank?
How would you handle the transaction if your customer did NOT have a deposit account with your bank?

We are attempting to issuance some guidelines for our employee regarding official checks and would appreciate your input.

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#1371740 - 04/09/10 02:00 PM Re: Sale of official check GottaLuvIt
Doug Hendrickson Offline
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Our general policy is that we do not cash checks for or sell cashier's checks to non-customers.

We have had situations where someone has deposited a large check into their deposit account and then several days later (after check clears), they will purchase multiple cashier's check in their name or the names of the same group of family members.

The tellers will come to an officer for approval on the sale of the cashier's checks and I will, sometimes, file a SAR. While I can understand that some folks don't trust banks, when I see someone doing this or repeatedly taking money out of or putting money into a cashier's check my concern is that they may be 'sheltering' the money so that they or members of their family can collect government benefits.

Just my opinion.
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#1371744 - 04/09/10 02:07 PM Re: Sale of official check GottaLuvIt
Elwood P. Dowd Offline
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I'm having difficulty imagining that a bank would allow anyone, customer or otherwise, to purchase a cashiers check with a check drawn on another bank. The basic rule is that a cashiers check should be sold for either 1) cash or 2) collected funds. I would not make it any more complicated than that.
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#1371753 - 04/09/10 02:15 PM Re: Sale of official check Elwood P. Dowd
GottaLuvIt Offline
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 48
Ken - I agree completely. I'm trying to load my gun with lots of ammo and have found this ia a GREAT forum for that!

Thanks!

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#1371807 - 04/09/10 03:00 PM Re: Sale of official check Elwood P. Dowd
madukes Offline
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I also agree, we would never [I hope] give a customer cashier's checks in exchange for a check drawn on another bank.

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#1371812 - 04/09/10 03:03 PM Re: Sale of official check madukes
Skittles Online
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You may hope, but unfortunately in the name of customer service, many banks would do this for their 'good' customers. I've seen a lot of silly things done in this manner.
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#1371819 - 04/09/10 03:08 PM Re: Sale of official check Skittles
Snow Bunny Offline
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If the person presenting the check is a customer of your bank, deposit the check into their account, confirm with other bank that the check is good before you issue checks on your bank. If they do not have a deposit account with your bank why type of accounts do they have with you?
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#1371915 - 04/09/10 04:04 PM Re: Sale of official check Snow Bunny
GottaLuvIt Offline
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 48
Duchess - that is precisely the issue

P.B. - some of these "good" customers only have loans, no deposit accounts

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#1372134 - 04/09/10 06:32 PM Re: Sale of official check GottaLuvIt
GottaLuvIt Offline
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 48
Thanks for all of input!

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#1372643 - 04/12/10 04:32 PM Re: Sale of official check GottaLuvIt
madukes Offline
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madukes
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Originally Posted By: bsanewbie
Duchess - that is precisely the issue

P.B. - some of these "good" customers only have loans, no deposit accounts


We had an issue a few years back with a customer [chronically overdrawn], we kept warning the branch but the response was that the customer "had lots of money". Our response back that we didn't care if they did, the money wasn't with us so it didn't matter. It later came out the customer had a lot of OPM (other people's money) which was money that they stole from mortgage settlements, government funds...(they were a settlement company).

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