It was pointed out to me that some banks out there do not issue actual physical certifcate of deposits, rather they just give some form of receipt to the customer and advertise this accordingly. Is this accurate? Legal? It seems this could be a way to reduce expenses by cutting down on physical certificates. Any opinions? experiences??

As with anything, check with your legal counsel... But we have not used actual physical certificates for years. An account signature card is kept on file and we give the customer a receipt document similar to a certificate indicating that the customer has opened a "non-negotiable/non-transferable time deposit." This way it is not necessary for the customer to come in or for us to mail out a new certificate if the customer lets the CD automatically renew at the end of the term. (Most of our CD offerings are automatically renewing.)

We stopped giving out actual Certificates several years ago. We issue a Certificate of Deposit Receipt instead. The receipt we use is a Banker's System form that is bundled into our account opening software. The only issue we have had is that some of our older customers liked it better when they received a certificate. But they have accepted it.

Ditto with the other respondents. We stopped issuing actual certificates several years ago. Signature cards are kept on file.

I haven't worked for an institution that has issued a physical certificate since 1995. I think there are distinct advantages to have the receipt style, especially if the customer looses the receipt, it's much easier (depending on your deposit platform) to issue a duplicate receipt without effeting the contract.