Can I ETF to the wrong name?

January 5, 2007 3:38 PM

Banking Filter: Can I do an ETF if the bank account number is right but the name is wrong?

Last year, I asked about cashing a cheque with the wrong name on it. Flash forward 12 months and I want to know what happens with electronic funds transfer in the same situation.

Google Adsense pays by cash and by ETF. The cheques have both my business name and personal name on them, so I have the choice of depositing to either a business or personal account. However, when you try to set up Adsense for an ETF, it only lists the business name as the account holder. Does this matter? Can I set up the ETF to go to my personal account, which is under my own name?

Thanks.

posted by acoutu to Work & Money (3 answers total)

Your spelling indicates to me that you may not be in the US, but -- if you are depositing an electronic check with the wrong name on it, in the US at least, you always run the risk of having it returned, particularly if the bank has stringent policies regarding depositing business money in a personal account. For example, at my old employer, if you ran "Big Bob's Party Shop," you couldn't deposit that check to your personal account. The rules where you are may be different. I would suggest calling your bank to find out their policy.
posted by Medieval Maven at 3:52 PM on January 5, 2007

All that is required for me to eft from my bank account is the routing number and the account number.
posted by JayRwv at 4:05 PM on January 5, 2007

Right, but if you send (and this is an extreme example) your tax return via EFT to your mother's checking account, then there is a really high probability that it will be returned, because it's a tax return. Not AS likely with other transactions, but you still run the risk based on your bank's policy. If they have the name, it may be their policy to check it. If your account number is 100012 and mine is 100021, and an EFT comes to my account with YOUR name on it, you want them to check the name, because that's YOUR money. Or your mortgage payment, or whatever.
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:28 PM on January 5, 2007