Order New Checks on Address Change in USA?
You can use the checks with old printed address when you move to new one. Change your address in Bank records but the old checks will still work.
This article will discuss:
- US Bank Check with Old Address Works Fine
- Paper Checks are Not Free
- Certified Check vs Personal Check
- Buy Check for Both Checking, Saving Account?
- Plain printed Check vs Design vs Parchment Check
- Where can I buy Checks in USA other than Bank itself?
- Why do we need Checks?
- Deposit Wife Check In My Bank Account?
US Bank Check with Old Address Works Fine
There is no need to order new checks on your US address change. You can still use the same checking or savings account check with old printed address.
On the other hand, you should change your address in bank records. Your checks would not be dis-honored if you do not buy new paper checks.
I have successfully used the same paper checks from Amazon, that I bought before changing my address thrice to pay my rent and kid’s school fees.
Paper Checks are Not Free
The paper check leafs in USA are not provided FREE by most banks like Bank of America, Chase etc.
You have to buy the paper check book directly from bank or get them printed from stores like Walmart or buy Amazon Paper Checks. You might get a complimentary 4 leaf check book when you first open a checking account, but next iteration has to be paid for.
Many credit unions like DCU issue a free check book every year. This is sufficient in most cases for most people.
If you are from India, you may not know that checks can be printed by you using your Bank’s routing number and bank account number easily. The checks also have a different spelling in USA which is different than British English spelling of Cheque.
Certified Check vs Personal Check
Certified Checks are different than standard personal saving or checking account checks.
Certified checks have some security features embedded for tighter security. They are sometimes demanded by rental companies before signing lease. You have to visit your bank’s branch to get these checks and they will certainly charge fees for it.
As per my experience, credit Unions offer pretty competitive rates starting at $3 for each check whereas banks like BOA charge about $5 per leaf. USPS also have this facility but again has starting rates at about $5 per leaf.
Cashier check is the same thing as certified check. Most of the local grocery stores like Kroger and Walmart have cashier check facilities for a fee.
Money order is also same as cashier or certified check.
You might need certified check if you are paying for Indian consulate services like getting Indian Police clearance certificate.
Buy Check for Both Checking, Saving Account?
It is your choice if you want to buy checks online for both savings and checking account. I personally recommend buying just for checking account to save money.
You may not need any savings account check at all in your lifetime.
Plain printed Check vs Design vs Parchment Check
There is no difference between the check’s value based on its design or the paper used to print it. Some people like to buy checks with designs and others like Parchment paper check.
My personal favorite are plain checks with carbon copy. They create a duplicate copy as you write that’s stays with you for tracking.
Where can I buy Checks in USA other than Bank itself?
I personally used Amazon paper checks. The other close competitor is Walmart checks. You can also buy checks directly from your bank which are definitely expensive than other sellers.
The terminology they use is check box. So, if you order 1 paper check box, you will get multiple check books with it.
I got it for about $10 including shipping. They are sufficient for a good amount of time (approximately 5-6 years) as they are used pretty occasionally here.
Why do we need Checks?
If you are coming from India and have heard about the technological advances US has made, you would probably be under the impression that you don’t need paper check at all.
Yes, that’s true and you can pay pretty much everything online barring some specific cases.
For example, some of the rental communities would demand the checks on paper with your sign. Since, rental is going to be the first and foremost requirement for a new-comer, you would need the checks.
You will need personal check for paying USCIS application fees for forms like H4-EAD.
When you open a new checking account (known as ‘current account’ in India) in US, they do provide about 4 complimentary check leafs.
Deposit Wife Check In My Bank Account?
You can deposit a check issued in your spouse name in your own checking or savings account as long as the LAST name on the check is same.
If you are trying to deposit the check with pay-to as both you and your spouse through the bank’s smartphone application i.e. clicking the check image and depositing from home, you should have the same LAST name. This means that the check should have the last names as same.
For example, Me and my wife use the same Last Name as ‘Gupta’. If the check was drawn on Anil Gupta AND Pooja Gupta, it would not face any issue.
And yes, only one of the guy needs to sign at the back of check while depositing it online. The one who has the account should sign.
The second case is when you use different last names. In this case, you both can visit the Bank’s branch with your photo IDs and then deposit it then and there. Bank official would verify your credentials and help you deposit it in a single named account.
Tax refund checks from IRS or the security deposit return from rental community may be issued on joint names. We got the one above from our rental deposit as we both (me and my wife) had signed the lease together.
