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Cashier's Check NOT as good as cash anymore

2K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  Gluhwein 
#1 ·
Okay all you banking professionals (I know there must be a few on this board:D), what is the DEAL with cashier's checks these days. I understand there has been fraud/counterfeiting regarding these checks but they used to be considered as good as cash. What I don't understand, is in 2013, why in the world is the banking system in the stone ages/third world country status with regards to funds verification of cashiers checks. It makes NO SENSE to wait 2+ weeks to have a clearinghouse manually clear the check. That is CRAZY. So besides it being "expensive" to implement electronic verification what other excuse is out there? (and I don't buy the expensive reason given how much money banks generate)
 
#2 ·
Well, my question is why people still use the checks in the US at all? I am European and that was something new for me when I moved to the US... These days when you wire the funds they can be immediately available for the recipient.
 
#3 ·
Sometimes people don't like the idea of wiring. They want the convenience of having the check in hand and not complete the transaction until they drive the car they are attempting to buy and maybe its after hours etc.
 
#5 ·
You shall roll in dollar bills and gauge CA's reaction.
Or better yet, quarters and dollar coins. That's what Paul Brant of Frankfort, Indiana used to purchase his new vehicle a few years back. To his credit, Mr. Brant asked for Clinton County Sheriff deputies to accompany him (and his coins) to the dealership, and commissioned Loomis to count the coins.
 
#9 ·
Nobody feels comfortable exchanging over 50,000 in cash. Cashiers checks are better for that.


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#10 ·
I saw a disheveled young man; hoody, shorts and Birks pull almost 70 large in greenbacks out of his backpack and drive out with a brand new e39 M5 :D No one who worked at the dealership blinked an eye...
 
#13 ·
Likely black market money??

BUT as a friend says if the money is good the money is good.

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#11 ·
Complicated problem. I'm not a banker, but a business owner and IT person. Banking system in the US lags behind in technology, and right now is paranoid about security. Yes there could be a system that would allow me to walk into a dealership, make a deal, use their courtesy computer to access my bank and wire the funds. But this is crazy risky: what if the dealer's computer has a key-logger and captures my bank account info? How does the bank know its really me (and not a hacker) before it transfers a large amount?

So probably not going to happen until some kind of secure authentication technology comes along ...

For me, I have an established relationship with a dealer. They're happy to accept my personal or business check. I realize this doesn't work for many people especially if you don't purchase a car very often.
 
#12 ·
I am referring to private sales which of course automatically is a wary interaction in which two parties don't totally trust each other. But they need to trust one another ENOUGH to complete the transaction. Having a banking system without a mechanism to provide a trusted third party validated portable monetary instrument makes future transactions and commerce progressively more difficult. Sure you could use wires, PayPal, or cash but they are either not portable OR risky for large monetary transactions.(robbery, etc)


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#15 ·
I'm with the OP. Back when I bought my first MINI the dealership had to wait for the check from my credit union to clear. Seriously? Why not just call and check? Besides, with all the freakin' paperwork one fills out at a dealership and all the ID's copied they can certainly find you if the check were bogus. Looks like another example where the Europeans are much smarter than us. Sometimes we seem so stupid over here. No wonder they let our ancestors leave the homeland.
 
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