What is a check and what are the benefits?

What is a check and what are the benefits?

A check is a bank document that is used as a form of payment. By filling out the check you are instructing the bank to deliver to the authorized person the amount of money that you specify in the document.

By having a checkbook you will have another option to make your purchases or pay your debts, since you do not need cash or a credit card to complete a transaction. Likewise, you should know that if for any reason you wish to cancel or suspend payment of the check, you can do so as long as the check has not been cashed. However, banks may charge you a fee for cancelling or suspending the check.

Advantages of paying or buying with a check:

You won’t have to carry cash

Without your signature the check cannot be exchanged for cash, therefore it is not valid.

It allows you to control expenses.

There are also different ways in which a check can be issued:

  • Check to the bearer, the one that does not indicate a specific person in favor of whom it is issued, must indicate the legend “to the bearer” in the space designated to indicate the name of the beneficiary. If they give you a check with this feature for security, deposit it or cash it immediately, since in case of loss or theft it can be collected by anyone since it is not necessary to present an identification, or write the data of the holder of the check at the time of presenting it. .
  • Nominative check or to order in this case it is essential to present an official identification.
  • Cashier’s check that is issued by an institution to be paid at its own branches or subsidiaries.

To have entrance to the checks it is neededhaving a bank account that provides this document but you need to know the way of using them aselse they can be the reason of headaches, these are some recommendations that the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services does about the checks.

First of all, when the bank gives you your checkbook or checks online from, check that it is sealed and count the checks, if they are not complete, return it immediately.

Every time you issue a check you must write down the information on the checkbook, when your account statement arrives, verify that the operations coincide, never sign a blank check.

Keep in mind that your signature can be forged, that is to say that this is not a sufficient security element, so keep your checkbook in a safe place and in case of theft or loss, report it to your bank immediately.

When writing a check, you should always be sure that you have sufficient funds to be cashed, otherwise you will have to pay commissions, remember that the beneficiary has the right to collect it whenever he wishes, so it is not convenient to make deals with him so that Wait.

To have adequate control of your finances, do not wait for your account statement to arrive or verify that the check has been cashed, it is better to deduct the amount from your account balance as soon as you deliver it.

Paul Petersen