You know, I found a copy of the Colorado UCC that has the Official Commentary included, and there is that mention of "good faith."
Although I think the plain language of the UCC gives a bank the OK to pay a postdated check if the customer hasn't asked the bank not to, I would not want to get involved in a court discussion of whether doing so met the definition of "good faith." Unfortunately, a lot of times postdating is an error (particularly with payroll services, I've found) and the issuer actually wants checks paid. Other times, the customer still thinks the law makes a postdated check "not properly payable" (that's where I think the revised UCC wording gives the bank an escape hatch).
A best practice, then, probably ought to call for a teller to refuse payment if he or she notes a check is postdated unless there are extenuating circumstances (notice from the customer that it's OK to pay?). If the teller doesn't notice the date, the bank should still be OK under the law, in my opinion.
One type of check that ought to be handled carefully -- any payment that appears to be an annuity payment from a life insurance company. Those folks get their knickers in a knot if it turns out that the payee dies before the date of the check (and the checks are almost always sent out a few days early). A strong argument for direct deposit!
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John S. Burnett
BankersOnline.com
Fighting for Compliance since 1976
Bankers' Threads User #8