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Certified check

 

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Certified check



 
 
A certified check or certified cheque is a form of check
Cheque

A cheque or check is a negotiable instrument instructing a financial institution to pay a specific amount of a specific currency from a specified demand account held in the maker/depositor's name with that institution....
 for which the bank verifies that sufficient funds exist in the account to cover the check, and so certifies, at the time the check is written. Those funds are then set aside in the bank's internal account until the check is cashed or returned by the payee. Thus, a certified check cannot "bounce", and, in this manner, its liquidity is similar to cash, absent failure of the bank.

In some countries, e.g.






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A certified check or certified cheque is a form of check
Cheque

A cheque or check is a negotiable instrument instructing a financial institution to pay a specific amount of a specific currency from a specified demand account held in the maker/depositor's name with that institution....
 for which the bank verifies that sufficient funds exist in the account to cover the check, and so certifies, at the time the check is written. Those funds are then set aside in the bank's internal account until the check is cashed or returned by the payee. Thus, a certified check cannot "bounce", and, in this manner, its liquidity is similar to cash, absent failure of the bank.

In some countries, e.g. Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, it is illegal for a regular bank
Bank

A bank is a financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money. It is an institution for receiving, keeping, and lending money....
 to certify checks. This regulation is supposed to prevent certified checks from becoming a universal substitute for cash, which is considered the only legal tender
Legal tender

Legal tender or forced tender is payment that, by law, cannot be refused in settlement of a debt.Legal tender is variously defined in different jurisdictions....
. The Deutsche Bundesbank
Deutsche Bundesbank

The Deutsche Bundesbank is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany and as such part of the European System of Central Banks . Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most influential member of the ESCB....
 (Federal Bank) is the only financial institution authorized to issue certified checks.

The liquidity and certainty of payment of a certified cheque explains the fact that it is sometimes considered as a an equivalent to cash, such as in the regulation of credit for casino gaming in Macau
Macau

The Macau Special Administrative Region, , commonly known as Macau or Macao , is one of the two special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong....
, where the law explicitly states that if a casino patron obtains casino chips and pays with a certified cheque, the transaction is not regarded as credit for gaming (see Law 5/2004, art. 2).

See also

  • Cashier's check
    Cashier's check

    A cashier's check is a cheque guaranteed by a bank. They are usually treated as cash since most banks clear them instantly. However, banks are permitted to take back money from a "cleared" check one or two weeks later if subsequent processing finds it to be fraudulent....
  • Certified Funds
    Certified Funds

    In the United States and Canada, Certified Funds are a form of payment that is guaranteed to clear or settle by the company certifying the funds....


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