What Is a Stop Payment and How Does It Work?

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A stop payment is a request you make to your bank or credit union to cancel a check before it’s processed. This step can help protect your money and prevent unwanted transactions.

How Does a Stop Payment Work?

You can request a stop payment on a check through the bank or credit union that holds your account. Most banks let you do this in a few ways:

• Through the online banking website
• By visiting your local banking branch
• By calling customer service

Before you begin the process, you will need to have the following information:

• Check number
• Routing number
• The date you wrote on the check
• The exact dollar amount on the check
• The name of the recipient or payee of the check

It’s important to act quickly — a stop payment must be placed before the check is cashed.

Reasons to Request a Stop Payment

There are several reasons to request a stop payment:

• You wrote the check for the wrong amount, date or recipient
• The check has other incorrect information on it
• You believe you wrote a check for a scam
• You no longer need to make the payment
• The check was lost, stolen or damaged

How Long Does a Stop Payment Last?

A stop payment will last six months on a personal check. After six months, you can request another stop payment, but checks generally become “stale dated” after six months.

When a check is “stale dated,” financial institutions are no longer obligated to process or cash the check.

How To Stop Payment on a Check

If you want to stop payment on a check, use the steps below to work through the process quickly:

1. Contact the bank: Depending on the situation, you might let your bank know online or in person.
2. Provide details about the payment: You’ll need to share details about the check, like the check number, recipient and amount.
3. Wait: After receiving the information, the bank may be able to flag the check and stop payments on it.

Depending on the situation, you might need to follow up with the bank to confirm the check has been flagged. Expect to pay a fee for this service.

What Happens If a Stop Payment Check Is Cashed?

If someone tries to cash a check with a stop payment on it, hopefully, the bank won’t cash the check. After all, the stop payment indicates that the check shouldn’t be cashed. However, that’s not always the case.

If you request a stop payment in time and the bank cashes the check anyway, they could be responsible for refunding the money. If this happens, contact your bank right away to file a claim. In many cases, the bank will be required to return the funds to your account.

Can You Order a Stop Payment on Any Kind of Payment?

Personal checks are not the only payment method that allows you to make this request. You can order a stop payment on the following types of payments:

• Personal checks: This is the most basic type of stop payment request. There is usually a fee for the request, and it is in effect for six months.
• Cashier’s checks: Cashier’s checks, teller’s checks and certified checks can have a stop payment go into effect 90 days after the check has been issued.
• Money orders: You can make a stop payment request on a money order. You must fill out a form and send it to your financial institution before the money order has been deposited or cashed. However, you cannot make a stop payment request on a money order through the United States Postal Service once it is in the mainstream.
• Electronic payments or ACH transactions: Stop payments last indefinitely for payments made electronically through the ACH network — these include direct deposits.

Alternatives To Stop Payments

If you don’t want to, or cannot, pursue a stop payment, consider the following alternatives:

• Contact the payee: Getting in touch with the payee on your check to explain the situation might lead to them not cashing the check.
• Communicate your frustrations: If you want to stop payment after receiving an unsatisfactory product or service, get in touch with the provider. Depending on the situation, they might accept partial payment or provide a replacement product to resolve the situation.

What to Do After You Request a Stop Payment

Keep an eye on your bank account to see if the check is cashed. If you requested a stop payment because of a mistake on the check, make sure you are still able to pay the vendor.

Jared Nigro contributed to the reporting for this article.

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