Please note that the stop payment fee depends not only on your bank, but also on the tier level of your account at your bank.
Have you sent a check and want to cancel it? Perhaps your check was stolen or lost? Don’t worry, as you can still contact your bank or credit union to request a stop payment on that check. Thus, a few simple steps will help you to cancel the check when needed. Moreover, a stop payment request is not only easy to do, but the steps are usually the same in all financial institutions. Therefore, study the information below to find out how to cancel a check.
So, how can you cancel a check?
Before we move on to the main steps that you should pay attention to, you must decide if you really want to cancel the check. You probably know that most accounts have a stop payment fee. Thus, before doing anything, explore other options. Perhaps, if the recipient of the check is your friend or family member, you can ask them not to cash the check. If you pay the company with the check, you can also negotiate not to process it.
If you have lost a check, then it is probably worth giving yourself extra time to look for it before requesting a stop payment on a check. It is also very important to pay attention to whether the check was cleared. Thus, if this has already happened, then canceling the check will not solve anything. It is important to request the cancellation of the check as soon as possible as it will take the bank time to process a stop payment.
Stop payment on a check
However, if none of the suggested options suits you, then study the basic steps of how to cancel a check:
- Check all the information you need. The most important thing that you need to do if you want to stop payment on a check, then you must provide your financial institution with all the necessary information. Typically, this is the name of the check’s recipient, the number of your check, account number, the date of the check and the dollar amount.
- Contact your bank. As already mentioned, time in this situation is a decisive factor, which is why you need to contact your bank as soon as possible. There are several ways to do this: visit a bank office, call there, or visit a website. Choose the method that is most convenient for you.
- Pay a stop payment fee. As you know, most banks charge a fee for stop payment. Often the amount of the fee depends on the account tier you have. Thus, in order to start the check cancellation process, you must pay your fee.
After you pay the fee, you should pay attention to the expiration date on the stop payment order. As a rule, it will be valid for 6 months in most financial institutions.
How much does it cost to cancel a check?
Before canceling a check, you should be aware that the cost may vary. Moreover, the stop payment fee depends not only on your bank but also on the tier level of your account at your bank. Moreover, in some banks there are no fees at all for stopping payments.
However, please note that although some banks have their own advantages, most of them still charge a stop payment fee. If we talk about national banks, then as a rule a fee will be from $ 25 to $ 35. For example, in Capital One the cost of canceling check is $ 25, in Citizens Bank – $ 35, in Bank of America $ 30.
Thus, as you may have noticed, requesting the cancellation of a check is quite simple. However, since the cost of fee can be as high as $ 35, you should still think a few times before using this action. Explore other options you can take before canceling a check.
