(edit title) Depositing a US dollar check Has anyone done this? Options

[Saywhatwhat]

Have you checked with forex about cashing a US government check?

What did they say?

[joshr]

How would endorsing a check via post work though? How does the bank check the signature of the endorser?

Essentially, no one looks at signatures. Twenty years ago, there were two separate fleets of aircraft that crossed the country every night handling check clearing (independent of FedEx and UPS). Now-a-days everything is digital. Even if you pay at Walmart using a check, it is scanned on the spot and a transfer is initiated.

Used to be that you could get your checks back from the bank after they had been deposited. Now you can just get images - Walmart actually gives you your physical check back after they scan it.

So when the IRS gives you a check, it is instructions to their bank to transfer money to you. When you sign it over to someone else, you have now told the IRS's bank to transfer money to someone else. When they deposit it at their bank, it is scanned and "presented" to the IRS's bank. The IRS's bank then transfers the money to the bank that presented the check for payment. Unless there is suspicion of fraud, no one ever looks at signatures.

Look at the bottom of your check - see how the numbers look strange? That is because they used to be printed with magnetic ink. When the check was scanned, each number scanned differently. Obviously today everything is optical, but that's a bit of history for you...

[RAFS]

Interesting, thanks joshr! I guess that's a backup option then.

Saywhatwhat, I never found if Forex can cash it. If they can, I doubt it would be significantly cheaper than Handelsbanken because SEB advertises this for 1600 SEK!

[Saywhatwhat]

[RAFS]

Yep! Handelsbanken's 1000 SEK almost looks reasonable by comparison.

Anyway, I will try the TransferWise Borderless account first and if that fails maybe try the endorsement thing.

[*Guest*]

I have banked US checks at Handelsbanken without issue - the cost was 250 SEK and it took a week. They even publish the exchange rate that they buy checks for regarding US dollar (https://www.handelsbanken.se/sv/privat/konton-kort-och-betala/betala/betalkurs)

You need to go to your home bank (the office where you are registered) - they will look at you a little strangely and look at the check and comment that it was a long time since they saw one of these but it works

[RAFS]

Thanks, good to know someone has done it! I'll try that if the TransferWise account fails.

[Wagoneater]

@RAFS. Did you resolve this? I have the same issue and have tried virtual banks such as transfer-wise, eTrade, physical Swedish banks and nobody will accept.

Interested to know if Handelsbanken did actually cash your checks...