Have you ever found yourself examining both your calendar and your bank account, wishing you had just a few more days to pay your bills? If you have, you might have thought about writing a check with a future date, hoping this will prevent it from being cashed early. It simply means that the payer is committed to making the payment only on a future date. Post-dating what is the difference between makes sense only when the payer is specific that the payee will not encash the check or deposit it in the bank before the date appearing on the check. If the check is returned for insufficient funds, I have to pay an expensive insufficient funds fee, which averages $35.20 at the top 10 U.S. banks. Banks are typically not required to delay cashing a post-dated check[1].
What Happens When You Deposit a Post-Dated Check Early?
This means that the instrument used to make the payment is dated for a specific date in the future. Postdated checks are normal checks, but the person writing the check chooses to write a later date on it. With features like online bill pay, mobile banking, and automatic transfers, you can make payments on time without the uncertainty of postdating checks. Visit a PNC branch, go online, or call us to discuss your options and discover how stress-free banking can be when you have the right tools at your fingertips.
What are bank rules on postdated checks?
- They may not have access to credit cards, forcing them to use the services of a local or regional payday loan company.
- Making payments electronically allows you to schedule the funds to go out on a specific date.
- It is because PDCs are issued as advances or as security checks for loans.
- Some of the biggest banks, for example, note specifically that they can honor checks that are made out for future dates.
We are not contractually obligated in any way to offer positive or recommendatory reviews of their services. We believe by providing tools and education we can help people optimize their finances to regain control of their future. While our articles may include or feature select companies, vendors, and products, our approach to compiling such is equitable and unbiased. The content that we create is free and independently-sourced, devoid of any paid-for promotion. If there are multiple occasions of failed check deposits, the bank could even close your account and report you to ChexSystems, a consumer reporting bureau that tracks negative banking history.
Auditor Treatment of Post Dated Checks
A post-dated check (or post-dated cheque) is a check written with a future date. In other words, the date that appears on the check is after the date when the check was written. Even with a future date appearing on the check, the check could clear (be paid from) the bank account prior to that date. For instance, someone with a car loan can schedule postdated payments to be transferred electronically from their account to the lender. From the perspective of the check issuer, there should be no journal entry to record the reduction in cash until the date listed on the check. From the perspective of the recipient, there should be no entry to record the increase in cash until the date listed on the check.
Hintz says that only criminal intent, such as intentionally not having enough money for a payment, can be grounds for check fraud. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the bank advertiser, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser Affiliate Program. However, it’s important to note that payees are not required to honor your request.
It is because PDCs are issued as advances or as security checks for loans. If I were to post-date a check, it would probably be because I don’t yet have enough funds in my 110 tax humor ideas checking account to cover the check amount. One noteworthy topic had to do with post-dated checks and what happens to them when you attempt to deposit or cash the checks before the date written on them. For example, assume that today is January 1, and you’re writing a check. In general, you’d put the current date of January 1 on the check, but you could just as easily postdate it a week and write January 8 on the check, instead.
The supplier agrees to hold the check and only present them on the given dates with the commitment from the business that both checks will be honored and paid by the bank on the specific dates. Thus, the supplier should not debit cash and credit account receivables on the date the supplier received the check. Such a check is a negotiable instrument with a future date written on it. The inheritance payment does not arrive on time, so the check bounces.
Depending on your relationship with the payee, this may or may not be a viable option. With $0 minimum to open online and Low Cash Mode® to help avoid overdrafts. “It’s kind of a tricky scenario,” says Matt Foster, founder of the rental property search site iRent and a landlord in Ventura, California.
However, postdating a check can lead to inconveniences and ill feelings for the payee, such as when a tenant sends a rent check and may or may not have the funds ready to be withdrawn. “From a criminal law perspective, there is nothing inherently illegal about postdating a check,” says Eric Hintz, a criminal defense attorney in Sacramento, California. It is important to know the basic rules and how to issue post dated check. MyBankTracker generates revenue through our relationships with our partners and affiliates. We may mention or include reviews of their products, at times, but it does not affect our recommendations, which are completely based on the research and work of our editorial team.
If you really want to cash a postdated check for the full amount, take it to the bank that issued the check (where the check writer has a checking account). If a postdated check is cashed early and there’s not enough to cover it, the bank may not clear the check and instead may return it due to insufficient funds. Banks and credit unions generally state rules about postdated checks in their account disclosures. Some of the biggest banks, for example, note specifically that they can honor checks that are made out for future dates. Luckily for them, Foster waits to cash postdated checks, but he isn’t legally obligated.
Furthermore, a bank can only be held accountable for processing a postdated check earlier than the stated date if the notice is still valid. When the drawee has to cash post dated check, they should always ensure that one has enough funds to honor the check on the specified mentioned date and that there is no post dated check bounced. Be prepared for the possibility that the check funds won’t be available. Not only do you not want to incur an insufficient funds fee, you don’t want to go through the trouble of obtaining a reissued check.
A post dated check is a check on which the issuer has stated a date later than the current date. It is used when the issuer wants to delay payment to the recipient, while the recipient may accept it simply because the check represents a firm date on which it will be able to deposit the check. This approach is used to improve the odds of being paid, especially when the issuer has little credit. XYZ Ltd. is a private company dealing in computer accessories manufacturing. The company must purchase different components as raw materials to assemble them as the final product. The company is a bit short of cash and will soon pay its customers as the cash collection begins in a month.
For example, an account holder might write a check on a Wednesday, postdating it to Friday to coincide with their payday. In most cases, when you receive a postdated check, you can deposit or cash a postdated check at any time. Debt collectors may be prohibited from processing a check before the date on the check, but most individuals are free to take postdated checks to the bank immediately. That said, if you agreed to wait, cashing the check prematurely might be considered in violation of an oral agreement, and that could be illegal in some jurisdictions. Keep in mind, though, that banks and credit unions can cash postdated instruments early.
The payee can present the check at any time unless and until the payer mentions to the bank that the check cannot be encashed before the specified date. However, such scenarios are not present in India and Australia, where banks are required to encash the check only on and after the specified date. However, a rejected payment (or an unexpected withdrawal from your checking account) can cause numerous problems. If you properly provided instructions to your bank and they pay funds from your account anyway, your bank should be required to cover any overdraft charges that result. You may have further recourse against your bank for any other expenses you face.