does a bank have to cash a check drawn off it?

Question

I have a check for $8,000 and I dont have a bank account. The check is drawn off of Bank of America. Can I walk into any Bank of Americas and get the check cashed?

Answer 1

You will not be able to cash that check with a large amount of money if you don't have a checking account with the bank. The bank will not take the risk of handing you $8000 and have no recourse if the check is a phony check.

Even if you have a checking account with the bank. The bank will require you to deposit the money into your checking account but it will not be available for you to withdraw at least 10days when the check is clear. .

Answer 2

Regulation CC is the federal banking law covering checks. When you deposit a check, the bank will place a hold on part of the check amount until it clears to protect against bogus or bad checks.

Under Reg CC, they have to give you access to the first $100 by the first business day following deposit. They have to give you access to the next $4900 by the second business day following deposit. They have to give access to the final $3000 on the fifth business day. The rules are slightly different for out of state or foreign checks. With a new account, they can place a hold for nine business days.

These rules are also to protect banks against fraud and scams. The banks don't really care about you, however. So if someone writes you a large check and says they'll pay you a commission to cash it, run away very quickly! You are being scammed. Call the police!

Answer 3

No. I think you are being scammed. If the check is fake you could face some legal problems if you try to pass it along, even if you think it is a valid check.
It seems odd you were given a check for 8k and don't have a checking or savings account.
If you know the person who gave you the check, and can confirm it is valid, then just open a savings account at any bank and deposit the check. They will hold the funds until they can verify the check is good.

Answer 4

They may want to validate it first - that's a lot of money to hand out to someone who doesn't have an account. An easy way to remedy this is to start and account at the Bank of America by depositing your cheque with them. It will take a few days to clear, then you can take out as much of it as you wish.