I am trying to find a "law" or "reg" that states why we always make sure that a customer deposits a check into an account of the same name. Is there such a thing??

There is no law, but it is a risk issue. If the depositor is depositing checks that are not payable to them, do they have the right to do so??? Even if the check is endorsed over to them, how do you validate the first endorsement?? It is usually handled on a case-by-case basis.

Thanks for your response. I was sure that there was something in the UCC that pertained to this question, but I couldn't find anything. Weird, you would think that there would be some reg for that.

Some of these issues are governed by case law. In our state, a large bank lost a case in the state supreme court. The judge ruled that checks payable to corporations were "for deposit only" to an account of that corporation. I don't know whether the decision has been overtuned, but it certainly clarifies the risk to me with regard to checks payable to formal business entities.

When dealing with third party items (particularly with consumers), you are relying on rules such as "holder in due course" and other factors that come into play. We are not lawyers and we are generally not in a position to get into these matters. The primary issue IMHO is whether the last endorser can cover the item. If you have a recourse issue or KYC issue with the last endorser, decline the transaction.