Holds may also be placed when a large dollar amount (more than $5,000) is deposited or when funds are deposited into a new customer's account. print email share. The wording on the check also determines where the check can be deposited. As one of my bank accounts is local (he banks strictly online), he occasionally will go to my bank to cash a check. Is this even legal? Also, when there is an insufficient amount of money in the drawer’s account, there is absolutely no way that the bank will honor the check. Can a bank refuse to deposit a check into your account because the check is from a former customer that owes the bank $30.00. Can a bank refuse to accept a check deposited into a customer's account? Banks can refuse any deposit for any reason. First published on BankersOnline.com 10/3/11. By accepting a two-party check as a deposit the banks may feel they have liability if there were a dispute between the parties. Recipients may prefer cashier's checks because: A bank can also refuse to pay a check if the drawer has issued a stop on the check. (At the time of deposit, some banks might put an additional hold on a check that is stale-dated and technically they have a right to refuse it, but most banks will just process old checks the same way as they would new ones.) Answer: Normally yes, but that would be governed by the language in your depositor's agreement. My husband and I keep sep. checking accounts. Here, the drawer or account holder instructs the bank not to honor the check. In effect, your bank stands behind the check and guarantees that the recipient, or payee, can deposit or cash it and receive the promised funds. Banks can place "holds" on checks for a variety of reasons. Filed under: How can a bank refuse to deposit legal tender in the United States? If the check is written to you or another party, then you or the other person can deposit the check into an individual account. When someone to whom you have written a check deposits it, their bank will look at the check and encode it with the amount. He can either wait, or not be dumb and deposit it in some kind of interest bearing account. Per The Fed: This statute means that all United States money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a … However, you … My brother recived an unemployment check and has no bank account. Legal for all debts, public or private, doesn't mean quite what I used to think, either. This process can take days, or even a week or more. I tried to deposit into my account and was refused because he owed the bank thirty dollars. They'll allow us to deposit the check into my account and then withdraw the funds but we both have to be present and show I.D Most commonly, banks hold a check because the collection of the money may be in doubt or the check looks suspicious for some reason. 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