So essentially someone writes you a check, you then bring the check into the bank and they take money out of that persons bank account and put it into yours. Just based on that slip of paper. So what stops anyone from writing fake checks, it seems like it would be really easy
(I’m a teenager so if this is completely wrong my apologies)
Edit: Thanks for the responses!
In: Economics
The main way is the funds are “uncleared” for some time.
When you deposit a check, your balance increases, but you can’t take the money out just yet. So if you have $3000 in your account, and you deposit a check for $500, if you check online, the bank will tell you that there’s $3500 in your account. But they won’t let you take the last $500 out for several days.
If you ask for cash for your $500 check, your account will still have $500 of uncleared funds.
They’re more likely to have a waiting period, or make the waiting period longer, based on the risk factors of the specific check. For example if you’re a new customer, or if the check is for a large amount of money.
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