When you write a cheque, you’re asking your financial institution to:
- take that money from your bank account
- transfer it to a person or merchant (the payee)
Personal cheques are a common way of paying rent or bills. Some merchants may still accept personal cheques.
Things to consider when you pay by cheque
When you pay by cheque:
- allow enough time for it to reach the payee by the due date if you mail it
- always have enough money in your account to cover any cheques you write to avoid paying fees
- keep a record of payments you made by cheque
Non-sufficient funds cheques
Your financial institution will usually charge you non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees if your cheque bounces. This is when there isn’t enough money in your account to cover the amount of a cheque you wrote.
Make sure you know how much your financial institution will charge you if your cheque bounces.
Get electronic alerts from your financial institution
Your financial institution may send you an electronic alert when the balance of your chequing account falls below a certain amount.
These alerts may help you manage your finances and avoid fees.
Learn more about electronic alerts.
Stop payments
You may lose a cheque, someone may steal it or it may have an error on it. If so, you may want to request a stop payment to prevent the person or merchant from cashing it.
Not all financial institutions provide a stop payment service. You usually have to pay a fee for this service.
To request a stop payment, you must provide your financial institution with certain information, such as the:
- cheque number
- amount in dollars and cents
- name of the payee on the cheque
- date on the cheque
For a stop payment to work, your financial institution needs time to process it before someone cashes the cheque. In some cases, your financial institution may not successfully process your request before someone cashes the cheque.
This may be because your financial institution received incomplete or wrong information about the:
- amount
- date on the cheque
- payee
If a stop payment doesn’t work, you’re still responsible for the amount of the cheque. To get your money back, contact the payee and ask if they will give it back. Some institutions may reimburse you the fees charged for an unsuccessful stop payment.
Counter-signed cheques
Someone other than the person named on the front of the cheque may cash a counter-signed check. This is if they sign on the back, or counter-sign it.
You can avoid someone doing this without your permission. Write “for deposit only to account of payee” on the back of your cheque. This way, only the person or merchant whose name is on the front of the cheque can deposit it.
Doing so may also help protect you if the person or merchant signs the cheque over to a third party. For example, a cheque cashing service. Your cheque may not go through because of your stop payment. In that case, the third party may take steps against you to recover the money. This could include legal action.
Stale-dated cheques
Someone may tell you that they can’t cash your cheque because it’s stale-dated. In that case, ask for the original cheque back before writing a new one.
Financial institutions don’t have to cash a cheque if it's too old, or stale-dated.
Financial institutions usually consider a cheque stale-dated after 6 months, unless it's:
- a certified cheque, or
- a Government of Canada cheque
Keep track of whether cheques you write were cashed or not. This will ensure that if a financial institution cashes a stale-dated cheque, you have the money to cover it. This could help you avoid NSF fees.
Post-dated cheques
A person or a merchant can’t cash a post-dated cheque before a certain date.
If your financial institution cashes a post-dated cheque before the date indicated, try to resolve this with them. Ask your financial institution to put the money back into your account. You must make the request before the date on the cheque.
You may not be able to resolve the issue or it may result in NSF fees. In that case, you can file a complaint with your financial institution.
Dishonoured cheques
A dishonoured cheque is when the cheque doesn’t go through. The financial institution refuses to pay the amount.
Reasons for a dishonoured cheque may include:
- non-sufficient funds in your account
- an irregular signature, meaning your signature on the cheque differs from the sample signature in the financial institution
- a difference between the amount written in words and the amount written in numbers
Dishonoured cheques are returned to your financial institution.
Filing a complaint about a cheque cashed on your account
If you have a complaint about a cheque that was cashed on your account, contact your financial institution.
All federally regulated financial institutions must have a complaint-handling process in place to resolve disputes with consumers.
Learn how to file a complaint with your financial institution.
Related links
- Paying with cash
- Using debit cards
