When did banks start requiring people to endorse checks for deposit?

General Discussions Forum
1

I’m currently a teller, and today I had an older lady, probably in her late 60s, come in to make a deposit. Her check wasn’t endorsed, so I asked her to sign it. She responded, “I’m not cashing it.” I explained that even for a deposit, the check still needs an endorsement. My coworker then remarked that because she’s older, she might have an old-school way of thinking, and he admitted he’s the same way.

When I was young, my grandmother took me to the bank and explained various processes to me. She always emphasized that a check should be endorsed, whether depositing or cashing it. I’m puzzled as to why some people make such a big deal about signing their checks for deposit. I’m curious—was there a time when endorsing checks for deposit wasn’t necessary, or am I remembering it correctly?

2

Hellos, The exact date of when endorsing checks became mandatory is a bit fuzzy, but the practice likely emerged alongside the widespread use of checks themselves.

3

Forever ago, been in banking for 20 years and have always been that way long before I started. The Uniform Commercial Code is like 70 years old. Checks always have to be endorsed, and as a teller it’s your responsibility, no one else’s end, to ensure you have gathered the proper endorsement to the best of your ability that the endorsement is genuine.

4

It must have emerged alongside the widespread use of checks themselves. The history of checks traces back to the 17th and 18th centuries, and endorsements likely served as a security measure from the beginning.