Answer:
Yes, and you should do so. The customer's stop payment order reaches you in time if you get it before your cutoff hour. The cutoff hour for this purpose is defined in Section 4-303 of the UCC. It is a time your bank establishes that is at least one hour after your opening hour but no later than the close of business on the banking day after you received the check for payment. If you don't establish a cutoff hour, it defaults to the close of business.
For example, if you open at 9:00 a.m. and your close of business is 4:00 p.m., you can fix a cutoff hour between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. If the stop order is received by that cutoff hour (4:00 p.m. if you haven't established a cutoff), and you haven't already certified the check or paid it in cash or exchanged it for a cashier's check, and you still have a reasonable time to act on the stop, it's in time.
First published on BankersOnline.com 1/29/07
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