While not common in the United States, a crossed check has parallel lines running across it or across its top left corner, indicating that it is only able to be deposited, not cashed. This can provide an additional level of security and can help prevent fraud.
Learn more about crossed checks and how they impact financial processes.
Key Points
• Crossed checks, marked with parallel lines, must be deposited, not cashed, enhancing security and preventing fraud.
• These checks are uncommon in the U.S., but prevalent in parts of Europe and Asia, as well as Mexico and Australia.
• Benefits include increased security, fraud prevention, and risk mitigation by requiring deposit into a bank account.
• Drawbacks include restricted use in countries like the U.S. and potential delayed access to funds.
• Crossed checks cannot be “uncrossed” by the payee, but possibly by the payor.
Definition of a Crossed Check
A crossed check is one that is marked, usually with two parallel lines horizontally across the entire front of the check or just across the top left corner. The words “& Co.”, “& Company”, “And Company” or “Not Negotiable” may also appear with the lines.
A crossed check may not be directly cashed — instead, the funds from a crossed check must be first deposited into an account such as a checking account. It can’t be signed over to anyone else, nor can the payee “uncross” it (though the payor might be able to).
Crossed checks originated with the British, codified with the Bills of Exchange Act of 1882 in the United Kingdom and the Negotiable Instruments Act of 1881 in India. Crossed checks (sometimes referred to as crossed cheques) are still common in certain areas of the world, including several European and Asian countries, Mexico, and Australia. However, they are virtually unused in the U.S. banking system.
If you are overseas and sending a crossed check to someone in the U.S., you should make sure that the recipient has an account that is able to accept it.
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Benefits of a Crossed Check
Here are a few of the benefits of crossed checks:
Enhanced Security
Whether you’re using online or traditional banking, security can be paramount for many consumers. When you cross a check, you are ensuring that the check cannot be cashed and instead must be deposited into an account. This increases security and ensures that there is a trail of who deposited the check.
Fraud Prevention
Another benefit of crossing a check is helping to ward off fraud. While it is typical for banks to require identification when cashing a check, this process is not quite as secure as requiring a check to be deposited into a bank account, such as a high-yield checking account.
By requiring deposit, a crossed check can be fully verified and the transaction then processed. This can help reduce the risk of banking fraud.
Risk Mitigation
Businesses often engage in risk mitigation, trying to reduce the risk of certain types of transactions. Using crossed checks can help reduce the risk of something going wrong with a particular type of check. This is because a crossed check is required to be deposited into a bank account and cannot immediately be cashed. This can provide an additional level of security to these types of check payments, allowing time for verification and lowering the overall risk of the transaction.
Limitations and Drawbacks
While there are some benefits and reasons to use crossed checks, there are a few limitations and drawbacks that you’ll want to be aware of.
Restricted Use
One of the biggest drawbacks is that the recipient may not have a bank account that is able to accept crossed checks. This is especially true if the recipient lives in a county where crossed checks are not particularly common (such as the United States). If a U.S. bank does accept a crossed check, you will have to wait for it to clear vs. being able to cash it.
Delayed Access to Funds
Another drawback is that it may cause delays for the recipient to access their money. When you cash a check at a bank or other financial institution, you can generally receive the money right away. However, with a crossed check, the check must be deposited into an account with a financial institution. This may mean a delay of several days for the check recipient to access their money, depending on how long it takes for the check to clear.
Example of a Crossed Check
You are unlikely to see an example of a crossed check in the U.S. However, if you are in another country, you might see one. It would likely have these elements:
• It would have two crossed parallel lines that were added when the payor was writing the check. These might go horizontally across the entire front of the check. Or they might cross the top left-hand corner on a diagonal.
• Sometimes, the words “& Co.” or “not negotiable” (or similar phrases) may also be added.
Typically, it’s not possible for a recipient to uncross a check once these marks have been made.
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The Takeaway
A crossed check (sometimes referred to as a crossed cheque due to its British origins) is marked by two parallel lines across the front of the check. A crossed check cannot be cashed directly — instead, it must be deposited into an account at a bank, credit union, or other financial institution. This can help to mitigate risk, prevent fraud, and enhance the overall security of the process. While crossed checks are not generally used in the United States, they are still quite common in several other countries around the world.
If you are based in the U.S. and looking for a bank account that can make money management easier, see what SoFi offers.
Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.
FAQ
Are crossed checks still widely used?
Crossed checks are still widely used in the banking industry, but only in certain countries. Crossed checks are not very common in the United States, which may explain why many Americans have not heard of them or are not familiar with them. Rather, they are usually part of personal banking in some European and Asian countries, as well as Mexico and Australia.
Can a crossed check be uncrossed?
Generally a crossed check can not be uncrossed by the payee. The whole purpose of crossing a check is to make sure that it must be deposited into a bank account. This lets the signer of the check be able to track where the funds have gone, in case there are any issues. However, in some cases the payor (the person making out the check) could write “crossing canceled” across the face of the check to undo the crossing.
Are crossed checks common in the United States?
Crossed checks are not common in the United States, though they are still widely used in other parts of the world. In fact, because crossed checks are so uncommon in the United States, you may have trouble depositing a crossed check in the U.S.
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