Cashing Cheques In Canada
Every year at Christmas, my 82 year old Grandmother gives each of her children’s families a cheque, and every year, she gets more and more anxious when it takes longer than a week for the money to come out of her account. We all live hectic lives, and many times, getting to the bank is just not a top priority – even with Grandma’s peace of mind on the line.
Up until very recently, the only way to cash a cheque in Canada was to make your way down to the bank and then wait in line for what seems like hours for either an ATM or teller to deposit money into your account. However, since the arrival of mobile deposit in Canada (offered by the majority of Canadian banks now) it has never been easier to cash a cheque. The mobile deposit technology makes getting your money incredibly easy and convenient by offering an immediate deposit of funds, as well as eliminating a trip to the bank.
How Does Mobile Deposit Work?
Mobile Deposit is fairly simple as long as you’re using a mobile banking app that offers the mobile deposit service. In many cases, mobile deposit can be used for personal cheques, business cheques, and in some cases even money orders. As mentioned previously, the majority of Canadian banks now offer Mobile Deposit through apps on your smart phone.
The first thing to do is to sign the back of the cheque then log into your mobile banking app. Next, open the app’s mobile deposit feature, lining up the front of the cheque in the designated box on your screen, taking a photo of the front of the cheque. Repeat the process with the back of the cheque. Most banks suggest writing the date along with “deposited” on the cheque and holding onto it for two weeks in a secure location before destroying the original. DO NOT RECYCLE DEPOSITED CHEQUES!
Is There A Downside To Mobile Deposit?
At the moment, it seems that there are only a couple of downsides to using mobile deposit instead of taking your cheque to a bank teller or ATM. The first is that if you need physical cash right away, your phone obviously can’t print it for you (yet). The second is that depending on your bank and the amount of money on the cheque, the more the bank may choose to put a hold on. However, the positives outweigh the negatives if you’re one of the nearly 70% of Canadians under 35 who rely on mobile banking on a day to day basis. Many people find mobile deposit far too convenient to simply ignore because you eliminate the need to take time out of your day to deposit YOUR money. While many of us have funds directly deposited into our bank accounts, it’s nice to know that when you do get a cheque, you’re not plagued by the inconvenience of getting to the bank.
I don’t know about you, but I know that this Christmas, my Grandmother is going to be one happy camper knowing that her annual cheques will be deposited right away instead of sitting around waiting to be taken into the bank.
Elyse Wittman
Cheque Specialist
