banking question: is there a limit to how much cash a bank will give...

[beattyfamily]

I'm wondering.

Is there a limit to how much cash a bank will give you with either a withdrawl or cashing a check drawn on their bank?

In the past, they've given me a hard time about an amount over $1000, saying something like "don't you want a bank check instead of cash, its safer to transport?"

Can they limit the amount you take out as cash?

Or can they limit the amount of the check you are cashing when the check IS drawn on their bank?

If there are any banking experts out there, could you help me out.

Thanks!

 

[ducklite]

Yes and no.

1. They can limit a large cash withdrawl if it exceeds the amount of cash that the bank has on hand--UNLESS you have notified them in advance that you'd be making a large cash withdrawl so they could order money.

2. They can refuse to cash a check that you don't have funds on deposit to cover. If you do have the funds on deposit to cover the check, see #1.

In either case you might be subject to various Patriot Act laws as applicable, but that shouldn't affect the ability to wothdraw cash.

Anne

 

[mickeyboat]

I am not an expert, but every time DH has gone in to cash a larger check, at our bank or the bank where it was drawn from, they give him a hard time. I think it has something to do with money laundering issues and the Patriot Act. (He is a carpenter, and sometimes he wants to cash customer checks to make sure the check doesn't bounce).

Also, it seems the tellers are not really trained well to deal with large amounts of cash. They always have to get someone to help them. One time, DH cashed a check and the teller just handed him the money without counting it. Another teller told her it was her job to count out the money.

He has cashed checks up to around $3,000 with some hassle, but they do it.

Denae

 

[beattyfamily]

Yes and no.

1. They can limit a large cash withdrawl if it exceeds the amount of cash that the bank has on hand--UNLESS you have notified them in advance that you'd be making a large cash withdrawl so they could order money.

2. They can refuse to cash a check that you don't have funds on deposit to cover. If you do have the funds on deposit to cover the check, see #1.

In either case you might be subject to various Patriot Act laws as applicable, but that shouldn't affect the ability to wothdraw cash.

Anne

Thank you.

Regarding #2. Can they refuse to cash the check even if it is a check from their bank and I also have an account with said bank? I thought they could only do that if the check was not one of their own checks.

 

[Bob Slydell]

We've withdrawn up to 6 or 7 thousand in cash at one time (for payments to contractors) and they were kind of weird about it, but in the end, it was in our account, so they gave us the cash.

 

[ducklite]

Thank you.

Regarding #2. Can they refuse to cash the check even if it is a check from their bank and I also have an account with said bank? I thought they could only do that if the check was not one of their own checks.

Even if was drawn on their bank they can refuse to cash it without either putting a hold on funds in your account to cover it, or having you deposit it and wait the standard number of days based on the law requiring availability of funds in your state.

Anne

 

[Lorix2]

I didn't know this was even an issue with banks.

I walked out of my bank with $6,000.00 cash a few years ago. I requested that the teller count out the money with me privately and they took me into an office and did that there. I'm trying to think back, it may have been from a money market, not a checking/savings, but it was my money I was withdrawing. The employee even escorted me to the door and watched me walk to my car where my DH was waiting.

 

[Wishing on a star]

It has been quite a while since I have had experience with this.

There are TWO answers to this.

1. If I am correct, it is your money, and the bank cannot outright refuse your requests.

2. There are very specific laws regarding cash management. These laws may kick in at as little as $1,000. now. Last I knew, I think I remember it was $5,000. In order to pass around that kind of cash, the bank must comply with these laws. It would require all kinds of paperwork and proof positive identification to trace the cash. The reasons for these regulations are indeed related to things like money laundering, tax evasion, etc....

I would suspect that for any large amount of cash, the bank is required to issue a warning... If anything were to happen, that cash is gone forever, and the bank can not be held liable.

 

[Wishing on a star]

(He is a carpenter, and sometimes he wants to cash customer checks to make sure the check doesn't bounce).

Your DH does not have to actually cash the check to insure that the funds are available. There should be a system in place where banks can determine if the given amount of money is indeed on deposit in the other account?????

 

[hydster]

I know that our bank has put a hold on a large check being cashed. When DH got his gigantic bonuses at work his company would not direct deposit those so they gave us a physical check. Bank would only release $1000-2000.00 at the time of deposit and then put a 5 day hold on the money. They would NOT give us any more than the 1-2K until the check completely cleared the bank. For a year or so we had the same bank as his company but then they switched to someone else. It still didn't matter. They would only clear a portion of the check until the 5 day hold.

It stunk!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Due to privacy laws most banks no longer verify funds on checks. If you call the bank where the account is the most info you will get is if the account is active or not.

If the account is with the same bank - they will know if it is good or not.

 

[taylor1293]

It's been years since I worked at a bank. But I can't imagine they'd care if anyone took out over $1,000, people do it everyday. Although, I do see why they'd be concerned about safety and loss, that is why they suggest a cashier's check.

Can they refuse to give you cash? Yes, they can. They have a certain amount on hand and if a customer comes in and, for example, asks for $75,000 in cash, this may not leave enough cash for the bank to conduct it's normal daily transactions.

Also, whenever you withdrawal or deposit 10,000 or more in cash, a form has to be filled out. It's to monitor suspicious activity, including tax evasion.

 

[LindaR]

Well each bank has their own policy (depending upon their size - smaller banks keep less cash on hand). When I was a teller, our policy was that anything over $5000 required some "inhouse" paperwork (to protect from laundering) and anything over $10,000 required lots of goverments forms! Most folks got annoyed because they didn't want to answer the questions. The rules also covered those who tried to get around this by, say, getting $4600 from one teller, coming back later and getting over $400 from another teller. That is considered suspicious activity and will require those forms.

 

[taylor1293]

Your DH does not have to actually cash the check to insure that the funds are available. There should be a system in place where banks can determine if the given amount of money is indeed on deposit in the other account?????

The problem with that is even if you can verify that funds are available(as someone else said, I don't think they do that anymore), that doesn't mean those funds will be there when the check goes through the issuer's bank.

 

[ducklite]

It has been quite a while since I have had experience with this.

There are TWO answers to this.

1. If I am correct, it is your money, and the bank cannot outright refuse your requests.

2. There are very specific laws regarding cash management. These laws may kick in at as little as $1,000. now. Last I knew, I think I remember it was $5,000. In order to pass around that kind of cash, the bank must comply with these laws. It would require all kinds of paperwork and proof positive identification to trace the cash. The reasons for these regulations are indeed related to things like money laundering, tax evasion, etc....I would suspect that for any large amount of cash, the bank is required to issue a warning... If anything were to happen, that cash is gone forever, and the bank can not be held liable.

The Patriot Act which is what you are referring to is more interested in cash deposits than withdrawls as an FYI.

Anne

 

[tw1nsmom]

It's been years since I worked at a bank. But I can't imagine they'd care if anyone took out over $1,000, people do it everyday. Although, I do see why they'd be concerned about safety and loss, that is why they suggest a cashier's check.

Can they refuse to give you cash? Yes, they can. They have a certain amount on hand and if a customer comes in and, for example, asks for $75,000 in cash, this may not leave enough cash for the bank to conduct it's normal daily transactions.

Also, whenever you withdrawal or deposit 10,000 or more in cash, a form has to be filled out. It's to monitor suspicious activity, including tax evasion.

Yup, $10,000 is the number that makes it necessary to fill out forms. This is true for deposits as well as withdrawals.

And, yes, they can decline to cash a very large check/withdrawal if they don't have enough cash on hand. They may require that you give them notice so that they can arrange to have the money on premises.

Some of what's been discussed has more to do with making sure the check is cleared and that the other end doesn't have an opportunity to put a stop payment on it.

You may also be running into tellers who simply don't have a lot of experience with large transactions. Tellers don't have very much cash in their drawers and if they need more there are procedures to be followed to get it out of the vault. Even if they know what they're supposed to do, some might still give attitude because it's extra work. If that's the only reason for a negative attitude, my opinion is tough, it's your job. I worked as a teller as one of my college jobs. It really isn't that difficult, but some don't want to extend themselves at all. As a consumer I think it has only gotten worse as more and more people carry less cash and do their banking online. It gives tellers even less practice on procedures.

 

[beattyfamily]

Thanks everyone for you insight.

We are selling our van and I don't want to get screwed thus I wanted to cash his check or maybe have the teller turn his personal check into a cashiers check so I can bring it to another bank.

He's coming with me to the bank (Citizens Bank) to releive my fears that it might not 'clear'.

I thought maybe just cashing it would solve that but it sounds like that won't be possible or it won't be easy.

 

[Jestocost]

Yup, $10,000 is the number that makes it necessary to fill out forms. This is true for deposits as well as withdrawals.

While $10K is where the requirement to report cash transactions kicks in, many banks can and do file the same paperwork for smaller amounts in a number of cases.

Also, one reason banks won't necessarily cash a check drawn on their institution if you don't have the funds to cover it on deposit is that ni most cases their teller systems are "offline." That means that even if the balance in the account on which the check is drawn shows up as sufficient to cover it, there's a chance that a bunch of other checks drawn on that same account have been cashed or submitted during the course of the day and none of those transactions will be reflected in the balance. Your check and all of the others will be "batch" processed overnight and the true balance will be updated at that time.

Finally, going in and trying to make a number of smaller transactions to avoid the various reporting requirements is a practice known a "structuring" and will on its own trigger an entire set of additional red flags. As a result, it is a very bad idea.

 

[ducklite]

Thanks everyone for you insight.

We are selling our van and I don't want to get screwed thus I wanted to cash his check or maybe have the teller turn his personal check into a cashiers check so I can bring it to another bank.

He's coming with me to the bank (Citizens Bank) to releive my fears that it might not 'clear'.

I thought maybe just cashing it would solve that but it sounds like that won't be possible or it won't be easy.

When I sold my car I insisted on a cashiers check drawn on a national bank, and also made a photocopy of the buyers drivers license.

Anne

 

[taylor1293]

Thanks everyone for you insight.

We are selling our van and I don't want to get screwed thus I wanted to cash his check or maybe have the teller turn his personal check into a cashiers check so I can bring it to another bank.

He's coming with me to the bank (Citizens Bank) to releive my fears that it might not 'clear'.

I thought maybe just cashing it would solve that but it sounds like that won't be possible or it won't be easy.

Just get a cahier's check from his bank. It's as good as cash, but much safer.