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If you or your payees ever have an issue with a deposit, their bank may ask them to bring in the original, signed instrument, and they're not gonna have it, bec

If you or your payees ever have an issue with a deposit, their bank may ask them to bring in the original, signed instrument, and they're not gonna have it, because it never existed. Buried somewhere in bank regulations is the requirement for an intact document. That's why the checks we purchase are festooned with security features, so people don't try to pull this shit with second-and-third-generation images. Banks made a significant concession with Mobile Deposit features. But really, they're just admitting that they've been doing the same with check images for decades already.

gregjor 3y ago
Been doing it for years. Never had a deposit declined or questioned. Never had to produce an original. No one cares, it’s not illegal. Bank fraud prevention is more sophisticated than looking at pieces of paper. You can order paper checks from any printer, they aren’t festooned with security features.
- NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
  Well, I'm relieved you're right. I visited the US Federal Comptroller site which says that it's never necessary to possess a copy of a check in a dispute. So then, why is my bank telling us that we need to retain the original check for 90+ days after a mobile deposit?
  - gregjor 3y ago
    I suppose if the payor disputed the payment the bank could ask you to show proof to support their investigation. Otherwise the bank is left trying to determine what happened with no evidence. Even if you have a paper check the other party could deny writing it or signing it. Banks have procedures for resolving disputes like that -- those happen much more often with credit cards than with paper checks. Mobile deposit probably feels strange and risky to a lot of people older than 40 or 50, so telling them to hang onto that paper check gives some comfort. Back in the '70s and '80s banks would mail your canceled checks to you with your statement, people my age got used to that. Then banks stopped doing that, and they stopped needing the paper at all. I suppose some people my age or older find that disorienting having grown up with paper checks filed in shoeboxes.

gregjor 3y ago

Been doing it for years. Never had a deposit declined or questioned. Never had to produce an original. No one cares, it’s not illegal. Bank fraud prevention is more sophisticated than looking at pieces of paper. You can order paper checks from any printer, they aren’t festooned with security features.

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
Well, I'm relieved you're right. I visited the US Federal Comptroller site which says that it's never necessary to possess a copy of a check in a dispute. So then, why is my bank telling us that we need to retain the original check for 90+ days after a mobile deposit?
- gregjor 3y ago
  I suppose if the payor disputed the payment the bank could ask you to show proof to support their investigation. Otherwise the bank is left trying to determine what happened with no evidence. Even if you have a paper check the other party could deny writing it or signing it. Banks have procedures for resolving disputes like that -- those happen much more often with credit cards than with paper checks. Mobile deposit probably feels strange and risky to a lot of people older than 40 or 50, so telling them to hang onto that paper check gives some comfort. Back in the '70s and '80s banks would mail your canceled checks to you with your statement, people my age got used to that. Then banks stopped doing that, and they stopped needing the paper at all. I suppose some people my age or older find that disorienting having grown up with paper checks filed in shoeboxes.