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I'm currently out of US territory, someone needs to pay me, so he made a check to me, with my name and CHASE account number on it, of course.

Can I ask some other friend to go and deposit that check into an CHASE ATM easily? I want to avoid the hassle of asking my client to send the check by postage, and then use the iphone app or something else.

I hope I can change my client's mind into using wire tranfers or person-to-person quickpay, but before that happens, I've to find a easy way to get those checks deposited without being there in person.

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7 Answers 7

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Not ATM, because for that your friend would need your ATM card, but yes in person in the branch.

If you can have someone who knows your account number come in to a Chase branch with the check - they'll be able to deposit it for you.

edit

A reminder - the check must be endorsed by you or be "for deposit only".

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  • Did you tried this on chase before or you are speculating about it? In chase phone line they told me "is up to the branch to accept this or not" but of course, most of the time the phone operator doesn't know anything :)
    – andres
    Jun 1, 2011 at 23:44
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    I've deposited checks for my brother and had a friend deposit checks for me, in Chase in California.
    – littleadv
    Jun 1, 2011 at 23:48
  • I have my tentants in an apartment out of state do this for years. They have the account number and just deposit their rent checks into an account that is setup for just apartment stuff. Of course the bank just got bought by US Bank, so the rules may change.
    – KeithB
    Jun 2, 2011 at 12:19
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    Just to warn you. I've had two different banks ask for ID when depositing a check. I keep telling them they don't have to do that on my account. Heck, let ANYONE deposit money in my account that wants to. However, it is their policy. So this might not work. Call ahead to the branch and ask before you attempt it.
    – JohnFx ♦
    Jun 2, 2011 at 13:09
  • @littleadv is correct, its not speculation as you can endorse the check, if its in your name, or just mark it for deposit only and as long as you are not cashing it or getting money back, it will go through. The matter of "identity" becomes an issue if there is ever dispute over who got the money. You can even endorse a check over to someone else and they can deposit it into their own account.
    – GµårÐïåñ
    Mar 26, 2014 at 3:15
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Generally, if the check is endorsed "For Deposit Only" with your account number below, your friend will have no problem depositing it on your behalf with a teller. Your friend should not sign your name on the check -- that's against bank policy and possibly the law. A deposit endorsement is sufficient.

If your friend has your ATM card and PIN, he will of course have no problem at all depositing into an ATM.

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    Is it sufficient to write "for deposit only" and the account number, without any signature? Suppose I am out of country and someone else is handling the check for me, so I cannot sign it.
    – Frank Schwieterman
    Mar 28, 2016 at 4:03
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Bank policies vary from bank to bank. Legally speaking, as a general rule identification is not required to make a deposit. Banks are charged with protecting your privacy and your assets. Making a deposit does not require the bank to disclose anything and therefore does not jeopardize either your privacy or assets.

I once made a deposit into my own account. The tellers did not know me and did not ask for identification. It did not matter if I was the account holder or anyone else. They simply don't care where the money comes from (assuming there is no fraud). However, after I made the deposit I asked for my account balance; they then requested identification. There's a fundamental difference between the two--your account balance requires to bank to disclose personal information that making a deposit does not. I have additionally had several people make deposits directly into my account without problem.

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The answer I got to this from Bank of America, from calling their help line, is that the proper way to do this is ordering a special endorsement stamp that has the account name, number, branch number, and "for deposit only", at a cost of $24. I specifically asked if a FDO endorsement and same payee/deposit account name would work and the answer was no. Your bank's policies may vary.

That said, anecdotally, on at least one occasion I know I have accidentally deposited a check through the Bank of America ATM without having endorsed it (payee and account name were the same) and it was deposited successfully.

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Depositing a check, unless it's drawn on the same bank, runs the risk of a bounce. So, unless they know you, you can't deposit to someone else's account without their deposit or clear authorization. I once had a tenant who often bounced checks on me, so I cashed them in person. One time, the bank said it wouldn't clear, but the teller kindly told me,"if only he had $10 more." So I deposited $10 and the $600 check was cashed for me. I'm sure the teller broke a law doing this.

Edit - To know how your bank would handle, contact your bank. The other answers below cannot confirm this either way, no one (including me) has cited a government banking regulation. Logically speaking, everyone's experience here is meaningless unless they bank at the branch you have in mind, this is a gray area, and it's worth dropping the dime. There is no other way to be certain.

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    "So, unless they know you, you can't deposit to someone else's account without their deposit or clear authorization" - I'm not sure I understand this statement. I've deposited checks to my brother's account several times, and not even once was asked to present an ID. The clerks obviously don't know me personally, and they didn't seem to care as to my identity, as long as the name in the "Pay to the order of" section was the one of the account holder. Why would they really? As to that particular clerk - he definitely broke the law by letting you know the private financial info of that person.
    – littleadv
    Jun 2, 2011 at 1:11
  • As I said, if I deposit a check to your account, it can bounce and the bank would charge you a fee. If you don't even know me, why would your bank subject you to that risk, by letting me deposit a check they don't know will clear?
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Jun 2, 2011 at 4:15
  • @JoeTaxpayer: Did not think in these terms, some one would willing deposit a check for fun in my account so thay i get penalized for bounce charges. But then such an extreme case, would the bank stop someone from depositing checks? The case you mentioned can be handled by catch hold of person who wrote the check.
    – Dheer
    Jun 2, 2011 at 5:24
  • @Joe - the bounced check and the fee will be collected from the person who gave the bad check. the bank doesn't and shouldn't care about who deposited it, it's the account owner's responsibility to do the collection. The check must be endorsed, and when my brother endorsed the check - he authorized the bank to collect it, it doesn't matter who physically brought it to the bank.
    – littleadv
    Jun 2, 2011 at 5:28
  • In your question, the friend's name doesn't appear anywhere to the bank. He's just the errand guy. I think you should ask the bank. My experience shows that not all banks follow all rules. Even if I cite a rule I know to be true, a dozen people can say their bank will do this for them. My bank used to ask me for ID to cash a check. Yet, they never asked my wife. To know for sure, ask.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Jun 2, 2011 at 5:33
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As a workaround, if you feel comfortable asking your client to do this, you could request the client email a close-up photo of the check to you, which you could print out and then deposit using the iPhone Chase app.

Also, if you open an account at a bank/credit union (e.g., Star One) that lets you upload a check photo or scan via the website, you could upload the emailed photo, wait for the deposit to clear, then inter-bank transfer it to your Chase account.

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honestly all banks across the us require id by the Patriot act it is up to the individual teller on your experience whether or not they know you and that's how people get away without being properly identified. technically they are all breaking the law by not doing so I've worked for three different banks. but it does get infringing on a relationship so typically tellers and managers make exceptions based on how well they know you some banks don't even allow tellers to complete a transaction without inputting each persons Id information in the system.

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