Cheque dated tomorrow, can I cash it tonight?

February 29, 2008 6:08 AM

I have a cheque that's dated tomorrow. I could use the money tonight. When is the earliest I can put it in an ATM without worry? TD bank in Toronto by the way if it makes a difference.
posted by yellowbinder to work & money (12 comments total)

you can put it into the ATM at anytime without worry. if they pay attention to the date at all, they would just simply withhold the funds from your account until the date of the check.
posted by violetk at 6:11 AM on February 29, 2008

Don't most banks only allow you to withdraw a certain part of the check when you deposit it? For me it's usually $100 that is immediately available (when deposited at an ATM), and then the rest comes in when the whole check clears....
posted by Grither at 6:17 AM on February 29, 2008

It looks like in Canadian law, cheques are payable on demand, just as they are in England and the U.S. Postdating a cheque is legally meaningless.
posted by grouse at 6:19 AM on February 29, 2008

A cheque deposited in a TD ATM won't be 'processed' until the next business day (March 3rd). The funds will be in your account, but the actual deposit won't appear on your list of account activity until Monday. I'm assuming you have an account with TD like mine, and the cheque won't be held for any amount of time.

Deposit the cheque now. It's fine.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 6:23 AM on February 29, 2008

People frequently post-date checks thinking that they are uncashable until the date on the check. As noted above, checks are payable on demand in the US and Canada.

Depending on the source of the check, I'd dispute the "it's fine" assertion. People post-date personal checks because they don't have the money in their account at the time. The check might be payable on demand but if it bounces, there's little comfort.
posted by jdfan at 6:43 AM on February 29, 2008

I have had checks cashed regardless of the dte on them.
posted by pointilist at 6:48 AM on February 29, 2008

You can cash it, the question is whether its polite to do so. If this is a cheque from a friend then I'd leave it til tomorrow. Usually when people post-date cheques its so that they know the money will be available for you, because if you cash it and its not they'll probably get a large fine from their bank and they might be a bit annoyed with you.
posted by missmagenta at 6:56 AM on February 29, 2008

If you deposit it after 6PM it will be processed on the next business, but you will be able to access the funds today.
posted by cleo at 7:12 AM on February 29, 2008

Actually, jdfan, it is not technically allowed to cash a post-date cheque in Canada until the due date, although cheques may in fact be processed by accident. According to the Canadian Payments Association:

What happens if a post-dated cheque is accepted and processed to my account before the due date?

Under CPA Rules, a post-dated cheque is not eligible for clearing and therefore should not be deposited before the due date. However, given the large volume of cheques and the degree of automated processing, some post-dated items may inadvertently slip through.
(http://www.cdnpay.ca/faqs/cheques.asp#6)
posted by Blue Buddha at 7:13 AM on February 29, 2008

Just to address missmagenta - as long as you cash it after closing of business hours today, then the money won't be withdrawn from the payer's account until the next business day, so to them it will be as if you cashed the cheque tomorrow (or, I guess, Monday - I'm not entirely sure about that one).

I do this all the time, btw, and it has never gotten me into trouble or not worked. Just make sure you wait until after 6pm.
posted by arcticwoman at 7:17 AM on February 29, 2008

My landlord's bank (Desjardins) and my bank (PC) recently cashed a rent cheque of mine that was post-dated 8 months in the future, because my landlord apparently forgot he already deposited my rent for January and idiotically deposited the August 2008 cheque in my stack of post-dateds. So I have a feeling it just depends on who looks at it when the deposits are processed, and how diligent they are. But in any case nothing will likely happen until Monday, if you wait until after 5:00 today.
posted by loiseau at 8:13 AM on February 29, 2008

If the check isn't drawn on TD, I sincerely doubt it would make it to the other bank before Monday, even if you were to deposit it right now.
posted by oaf at 10:43 AM on February 29, 2008