How to Make a Deposit in Another Person's Bank Account

Bank
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You may be running an errand for family, paying back money you owed someone, or even depositing money to help out a friend. Whatever the reason, depositing money to another person's bank account can be more complicated than making a standard deposit to your own account. Knowing what types of deposits are acceptable and what information you need to bring with you is a good way to make the process easier.

Locate the nearest branch of the bank
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Ask the person you are depositing for which bank he has his accounts with. Locate the nearest branch of that bank by visiting the website or calling the service number.

Checkbook
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Obtain the number to the account that your deposit will go into. If the person benefiting from your deposit has a checkbook, she may have pre-printed deposit slips that already have her account number. If not, ask for the number and write it down.

Write check
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Decide on the type of deposit you will make. Depositing cash or a check made out the account owner will be easiest, as these will be accepted by the bank immediately. If you have a check made out to yourself that you wish to sign over to the other person, this may be also be possible to deposit. However, while AllBusiness.com indicates that the Uniform Commercial Code allows the ownership of a check to be transferred from one person to another, banks may refuse to accept a third party check due to the difficulty of verifying the signatures.

Checkbook
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Visit the branch of the bank, bringing the deposit with you. If you do not have a pre-printed deposit slip, fill out a blank deposit slip with the person's account number at the bank's check writing station.

Bank teller
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Approach a teller to make the deposit. The deposit will likely be accepted with no question, especially if you are using cash or a check made out to the account owner. If the teller asks questions about the account you are depositing into, explain that you are making the deposit on someone else's behalf and that any account issues should be discussed with that person.

  • If the person you are depositing for does not know their account number or you wish to deposit without the knowledge of the recipient, ask the bank teller to look up the account by the person's name. The teller can fill out the deposit slip for you, as she cannot provide you with another person's account number directly.
  • If you and your recipient bank at the same financial institution, contact your bank to see if they have an automated method of transferring money from your account to the other person's. You may be able to complete the transaction at the branch without a deposit slip, or even online depending on your bank's capabilities.

Genevieve Adams has been a freelance writer since 2007 and is also regulatory compliance analyst for a community bank in the Pacific Northwest. Her work, covering primarily finance, crafting and fashion, appears on various websites. She has a Bachelor of Arts in theater from Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon.

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