Deposit a Cheque under One Name to Another Bank Account

Hi All, I talked to a friend yesterday and he told me he won jackpot playing pokies ~ 20k (lucky for him) but I am not sure how much he spent/lost to win that but good for him. His situation is a bit complicated with finances. The RSL wrote a cheque under his name, he asked me if he can come to the bank and deposit it to his mom account (as a surprise gift for helping him when he was struggling) instead of his account because he does not want his missus to know about this, basically he does not want anyone to know about this winning but he would like to gift this to his mom. I told him just come to the bank and ask if he can do it.

It is interesting to me as I have not been in this situation before and very curious to know if it is possible and what else can he do if the bank does not accept his request to deposit the cheque to his mom's account. Please i do not want to do anything illegal but due to my limited knowledge on banking and cheque, i am turning to Ozbargain experts :)

PS. Be nice to me please if I miss anything or do not know any common knowledge.

P.S. On the cheque, there is a word "Non Negotiable A/C Payee Only"

Cheers

Comments

  • Does the cheque have the words 'or bearer' after the name? If so, you can bank it into anyones account.

    https://www.nab.com.au/personal/bank-accounts/cheque-payment….

    • i will ask him for a photo of the cheque see if it has this words

    • +1

      i got the photo, on the cheque, it said "Not Negotiable A/C Payee Only" so it means it can't be banked to his mom's account then, am i right? because the word "Non negotiable" so it has to go to his bank account.

      • +1

        on the cheque, it said "Not Negotiable A/C Payee Only" so it means it can't be banked to his mom's account then, am i right?

        See NAB link above, covers this. But yes can't be banked into his MUMS account.

    • If so, you can bank it into anyones account.

      Not at a bank branch.

      The owner of the account must be there with ID.

      I can't even deposit into my kid's account anymore at the branch.

      • Not at a bank branch.

        Which bank?

        NAB says otherwise.

        • Which bank?

          CBA.

          They started doing it last year.

          • @jv:

            They started doing it last year.

            Change banks…..

            • @JimmyF:

              Change banks…..

              All the other banks have closed their branches here.

              • @jv:

                All the other banks have closed their branches here.

                Sucks to be you.

                • @JimmyF: Why? I have ID for making cash deposits.

                  I think it is now a legal requirement for deposits and withdrawls > $10K

                  • @jv: Anti-mney laundering - but CBA are the most fussy - probably as they got the largest fine for not enforcing the rules previously

    • Thats irrelevent

      OP said this and it answers OPs question 100%

      On the cheque, there is a word "Non Negotiable A/C Payee Only"

      • -1

        Thats irrelevent
        On the cheque, there is a word "Non Negotiable A/C Payee Only"

        Things the OP added to the post AFTER I posted that reply and asked the question what it had on it. Go look at the original revision of the post. But thanks for your comment /s

  • +9

    to his mom

    It is probably different in the USA so not sure we can help.

  • +17

    I doubt it's his "missus" he is trying to hide it from - As if this was the case he could just open a new transaction account with ANY bank in his own name and deposit it. Much more likely he owes money to either the government, debt collectors or receives government payments he doesn't want to affect.

    • i think that would be the case but i did not ask further as that is his business. I told him that too but he said he has account with all major banks. Also don't you need to visit a branch to bank a cheque? It has been ages since I have anything to do with cheques.

      • No you can deposit via the ATM at major banks

        • Seems to be a value limit on deposits via ATM, e.g. NAB

        • Some banks let you deposit with a photo of the cheque via their app e.g. Westpac

  • +2

    I understand the problem.

    I'll have the money.
    (That is, if nobody wants it…)

    Trying to help. lol

    • he told me he could get someone to buy the cheque for cash and he take home less than 20k then give it to his mom. is that really a thing? sound dodgy though. How can the other person bank the cheque under his name to their account?

      • +3

        They won't be able to. Also, how well do you know this person? Because it's starting to sound like you're being setup for a scam.

        • Yeah i saw the cheque, it's from RSL, it's legit, I'm only interested in knowing about depositing the cheque to another account. What he does with the cheque is his business :)

          If I have this jackpot 20k, it goes straight to my offset account lol

        • +2

          Yep. Every extra bit of info makes it sound more suspect.
          Best case seems to be op not getting in trouble for assisting the winner avoid garnishee orders.

      • is that really a thing? sound dodgy though

        It's a legitimate "service"… you'll pay for the privilege.
        I think you'll find most of the predatory payday lenders offer the option.

        Example

        • What scenarios would someone use them instead of a bank?

  • +5

    His situation is a bit complicated with finances

    Always is with gamblers. Managing all those winnings must be a full time job.

  • +1

    He could be bankrupt, hence does not wish to let the trustee know of his winnings.

  • Easiest way is to bank into friend's own account then transfer to his mum's account.
    A cheque marked account payee only is a direction by the drawer (ie, RSL) to the collecting bank to pay into the account of your friend only. This is to reduce cheque fraud. Otherwise if the cheque is lost or stolen, anyone could bank it into their own account.
    Your friend could endorse the back of the cheque to instruct the collecting bank to pay into his mum's account. However, depending on mum's bank, each bank has its own rules for ensuring the endorser is legit as it may be liable for wrongfully paying a cheque eg ANZ, NAB. Once endorsed, the cheque is known as a third party cheque.
    The above is not legal advice and your friend should make their own enquiries with his mum's bank as to what to do.

    • Thank you for this. I learnt something new. All good. i will just tell him to go ask his bank on how to deal with it.

      • No probs. If he wants to deposit it into his mum's account he should speak with her bank, not his (unless they both use the same bank).

  • +2

    you can endorsed a cheque to a third party (his mum) however as the cheque is written "non negotiable acct payee only", this means the bank will likely to reject it as the mum's acct is not the same name as the cheque.

    easiest way to get around this is simply for him to open a new bank acct at a different bank under his name, deposit that cheque then transfer it out to his mum acct once its cleared.

  • +1

    Hello @outman2008, I also won a large amount from the poker machines and I only had an online bank account (was 86400 now Ubank) so even though it's somewhat annoying I just set up a Commbank account to deposit the cheque into there. I think it cleared in about 4 business days, Commbank account was set up in my name, the name that matches the Cheque. As soon as it cleared I went and withdrew the lot and closed the account. No one has come knocking on my door regarding the winnings and this was 1 year ago so I dont think your friend will need to stress that much. I was also unemployed at the time recieving Centrelink payments. However if the Cheque is not in his name the only option I can see for him to do is either go back to the RSL cancel that Cheque and get a new cheque in his actual name or possibly use one of those instant cheque cashing servives but they will take a large chunk of money as admin fee etc. Also now your friend has won the Grand jackpot thats it he doesnt need to play them anymore as he won the highest you can win and I can tell you right now he will never win that ever again lol.

    • Thank you for your input. I told him exactly what you said, he is not gonna win it again so don't waste money looking for it. I doubt he will listen but that is his issue.

  • Easy solution here with 4 simple steps (providing what he says is in fact true and it's 100% related to his partner not finding out vs the government or debt collectors finding out):

    1. Open up a new bank account, with a different bank, using a new email address
    2. Deposit the cheque into the new account
    3. Once it's there, transfer it to his mother's account
    4. Close the newly created account
  • The owner of the account will need to be there with ID as well as the owner of the cheque with ID, otherwise you will not be able to make the deposit over the counter.

  • Back in the day (early 2000s) I had a job that included handwriting payroll cheques, the employer's bank account was with St George (eg. they were St George cheques). My understanding is that employees that didn't bank with St George would regularly go into the local St George branch, present their pay cheque and have it cashed out on the spot. No idea if anything has changed to prevent this from happening now, but potentially it could be worthwhile contacting the bank on the cheque.

  • Update - I was very curious about this cheque deposit so i asked him about if he is in debt or receiving centrelink payment, he said no to both. I know he is working as a forklift driver but not sure if it is permanent or contract work. He said he took the cheque to his bank CBA and asked if he can deposit it directly to his mom's account also CBA. The teller advised because of the non negotiable and A/C to payee only, they could not deposit it to his mom's account so he deposited it to his account. Will probably take few days for it to clear then he can transfer to his mom's account. He told his missus about the winning and he was surprised she was ok for him to gifting this to his mom. Got his missus a new S24 ultra and a few extra stuffs though. He booked Japanese buffet for my family - 4 people. It turns out well.

    Just for my curiosity, some of you mentioned if he was receiving Centerlink payment, would it stop the payment when he deposited the cheque? Any lumpsum payment is a big payment, is there a limit? Well if you win Division 1 lotto then you will stop receiving Centerlink payments, but what about 20k or 30k pokies winning? Do you have to report it as prize money from pokies?

    What would happen if debt collectors find out that he won this 20K and spent it all?

    • Your friend will be swimming with the fishies

    • Centrelink do not have routine access to bank accounts, they would not know about the deposit unless it was reported to them.

Login or Join to leave a comment