Do you need ID to pay a cheque in?

Jenny555

Hi there,
Has anybody come across this scenario before: I am the executor of a will and have distributed proceeds to beneficiaries. One of the beneficiaries, who has a learning disability asked me to write 2 cheques for him because he doesn’t do internet banking. It was for few thousand but not a massive amount. When he went to pay the cheques in to his bank account, the bank asked for photo ID, even though he had a bank card and has his wages paid in every week etc. Obviously, he felt worried and confused, as he doesn’t drive and his passport was out of date. He has been unable to pay them into his current and savings accounts. The bank have taken the cheques now, so I don’t really want to do a bank transfer. I phoned the bank and they said they always ask for photo ID when paying in a cheque but I’ve never been asked; I just use my bank card over the counter with the cheque. 

dunstonh

It is unusual to be asked for ID on a deposit unless the transaction is unusual (not part of normal activity within the account) or the amounts are above that day's floor limit and the account is not known for that sort of activity. 

Why have the bank taken the cheques?

xylophone

One of the beneficiaries, who has a learning disability asked me to write 2 cheques for him because he doesn’t do internet banking. 

Would you have been able to make a faster payment direct to his account?

When he went to pay the cheques in to his bank account, the bank asked for photo ID, even though he had a bank card and has his wages paid in every week etc. 

I have never come across this - paying in slip or bank card always sufficient.

He has been unable to pay them into his current and savings accounts. The bank have taken the cheques now, 

On what basis? That they'll be held in the safe until he turns up with photo ID?

refluxer

It's rare I have reason to pay a cheque in these days but on the odd occasion that I have in the past, I've never been asked for ID. My parents occasionally pay cheques into their grandkids' accounts (I give them the building society passbooks) and they've never been asked either.

Why have the bank taken the cheques if they were unwilling to pay them into his account ?

Jenny555

Hi there,

thanks for your feedback. Yes, I could have made a bank transfer but he didn’t have his savings account details. He finds it very difficult, so I try to keep things simple for him. I’m curious because I’ve paid in a large cheque into a branch machine about a year ago, with my bank card. I have also paid cheques over the counter. I’ve never been asked to provide ID. I thought my card was sufficient, after all, it’s money going into the account, not out. I felt really sorry for him because it was an ordeal he doesn’t deal with very well. I told him it would be fine. I’m not sure he has photo ID. I’ll have to go to the branch myself. The irony is, it’s the same bank branch. 

Jenny555

Hi Refluxer,

thanks for your comment. They took the cheques but then phoned him whilst he was on his way to work to tell him he need Photo ID. They said they would send the cheques back to him. It just seems a bit arbitrary to me.

maybe time to change banks.

sevenhills

When I pay cheques in to my account, I post them. Maybe it was the size of the cheques, but you wouldn't think ID was needed for paying in, only taking out.

McKneff

Does he have a cheque paying in facility on hi phone 

Jenny555

Hi there,

No, he has a learning difficulty. He cannot do online banking, he would find that very difficult to comprehend. I will have to go into the bank tomorrow, during a pandemic, potentially putting me, him and bank staff under unnecessary risk. I think it is over zealous. I could understand it if the cheque was deposited and then, they contacted me. As I said, we bank at the same branch. 

elsien

I've never been asked for ID to pay cheques in. Which bank is it? 

ETA - my bank has a cheque paying in machine. I realise that your relative may not be able to use it, but just mentioning it because cheques are clearly paid in that way without photo ID.  And you can pay cheques in by post as well - I had to when my bank wasn't open due to the last lockdown. Again, no photo ID just a cheque and a paying in slip. 
Does seem a bit over-zealous. 

Old_Lifer

I pay several cheques a year into into my bank or building society accounts and have never been asked for ID.   Indeed, why would he be asked for ID when paying a cheque payable  to  himself  into an account in his name ?

As he has learning difficulties,  do you think that someone at the branch  is having a bit of 'fun' at his expense ?     A formal complaint perhaps  ?