Non-account holder unable to cash cheque

| 11/01/2019

I went to a bank in Cayman to cash a cheque issued by a local insurance company from an account at the same bank. The cheque was refused and I was told I had to present it at my own bank. Is this correct procedure? What about people who don’t have a bank account?!


Ask Auntie, CNS Local Life, Caymanian statusAuntie’s answer: I have to say that it is correct procedure, but that doesn’t make it any more palatable. You should also know that each bank has its own policy on cashing cheques from non-account holders.

To find out which bank does what, you can go to the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority which provides information, updated quarterly, on various and sundry bank fees (see link to the table below).

In the case you describe, the policy differs quite a bit among banks. If you scroll through the table, you will find a section at the end devoted to non-account holders.

Cayman National Bank, Butterfield Bank and CIBC First Caribbean will allow you to cash a cheque for respective fees of $1, $5 and $10. Fidelity doesn’t charge for this service but limits the cheques to those that are drawn on a Fidelity account. RBC Royal Bank charges $10 to cash a cheque from non-clients but restricts that service to cashing government and pension cheques. And Scotiabank does not charge but limits the service to cheques drawn on an account from that bank.

List of Retail Bank Fees as at 1 November 2018

Send questions to auntie@caymannewsservice.com

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Comments (3)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    This shouldn’t be allowed. The banks are getting worse and worse. Less and less customer friendly. Why are we as a country driving away the banking business?

  2. Leroy says:

    You were lucky to get a check even if it was made of rubber. I had to wait weeks to get one because they said they did not have my money.