Check Presented and Cashed Twice

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Question:

One of the tellers cashed a unemployment check that had been already paid via Digital Federal Credit Union. The customer first scanned the check from home and then came to my credit union with the original check and cashed it. This customer does not have an account with us, but has an account with Digital Credit Union. Now we are left holding the original check returned as already paid. I tried contacting Digital Credit Union, but I have not recieved any response. How can I resolve this? Does my credit union have to eat it or I can claim it from Digital?

Answer:

This is one of the risks of remote deposit capture, particularly when consumers are making the deposits. Unhappily, the bank the check is drawn on will often have only one choice concerning which version of the check it will return. In this case, your credit union lost the race, and you're left holding the bag unless you're able to recover from the customer, based on his/her endorsement.

First published on BankersOnline.com 7/19/10