How to cash a US generated cheque?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › How to cash a US generated cheque?

duckDecoy

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#322811 24-Sep-2025 07:43

A friend has been issued a cheque issued by the IRS in America. They made a payment to them by credit card but they decided not to accept it, and instead of reversing the charge they have sent them a cheque back.

His banks here in NZ have told him they won't accept it.

Does anyone have any ideas on how he can cash it? Its approx 3k so he cannot just chalk it up to bad luck.

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#3418241 24-Sep-2025 07:56

I've had friends who have had this problem before. In all honesty I think he might have to deposit it into a US bank account

Asteros

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#3418243 24-Sep-2025 07:58

Although on reflection if your friend could possibly open a US PayPal account, deposit the check then transfer funds to NZ it might work.

Behodar

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#3418245 24-Sep-2025 08:04

The ombudsman says you can ask a bank for advice. It also says that banks have "largely" (rather than completely) stopped accepting cheques, so there might still be a process for unusual cases.

k1w1k1d

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#3418246 24-Sep-2025 08:04

Would Wise be an option?

eracode

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#3418248 24-Sep-2025 08:06

When you say 'cash' I assume you mean deposit it into a NZ account. The cheque can't be banked in the normal way.

However, up until when I stopped working in banking 12 years ago, there was a clear and definite way for this to be handled - but the rules may have changed. It wasn't common but it was done.

The bank would accept the cheque on what they called a 'collection basis'. This meant that they would send the cheque to one of their correspondent banks in the US to have it paid - then the funds would be sent back here, converted to NZD and paid to the client's local account.

It took some time - up to two months - and there were sizeable fees involved. I assume you're talking about NZD3,000 and for that it would be well worth doing. Your friend should ask the bank about this 'collection basis'. The answers he/she is getting might just be someone in the bank who doesn't know their stuff or who just can't be bothered. Your friend needs to be talking to the right people. For example, with all due respect to bank tellers, a teller is not a suitable person to talk to about this.

Bank staff regarded this as a bit of a PITA and it tended to be done mainly for valued existing clients. I wouldn't expect a bank to do this for someone who walks in off the street.

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lachlanw

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#3418251 24-Sep-2025 08:16

You can't bank US Cheques into a New Zealand account

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michaelmurfy

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#3418271 24-Sep-2025 08:35

Behodar: The ombudsman says you can ask a bank for advice. It also says that banks have "largely" (rather than completely) stopped accepting cheques, so there might still be a process for unusual cases.

Unfortunately, these days you’re not going to get your bank to accept an international cheque. Banks have fully removed this ability.

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johno1234

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#3418272 24-Sep-2025 08:37

Take a holiday to Vegas and cash it in the casino!

eracode

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#3418275 24-Sep-2025 08:48

michaelmurfy:

Behodar: The ombudsman says you can ask a bank for advice. It also says that banks have "largely" (rather than completely) stopped accepting cheques, so there might still be a process for unusual cases.

Unfortunately, these days you’re not going to get your bank to accept an international cheque. Banks have fully removed this ability.

Yes - you're right. I did say above that the rules may have changed. I just asked ChatGPT which NZ banks would still accept a USD cheque on a 'collection basis’.

It replied with detail showing all NZ banks stopped accepting foreign currency cheques at various times in March 2024.

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wellygary

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#3418277 24-Sep-2025 08:49

eracode:

When you say 'cash' I assume you mean deposit it into a NZ account. The cheque can't be banked in the normal way.

However, up until when I stopped working in banking 12 years ago,

its over now... all NZ banks are cheque free (local and international) .The last few changed in 2024

Changes to foreign cheques
We stopped accepting deposits of foreign cheques of any currency into ANZ accounts from 1 March 2024.
https://www.anz.co.nz/comms/foreign-cheque-removal/

wellygary

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#3418324 24-Sep-2025 09:00

Basically they'll likely need to go to the US to cash it...

https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/360652921/kiwi-receives-us-tax-refund-has-no-way-bank-it

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invisibleman18

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#3418347 24-Sep-2025 10:19

Brother had a similar issue when he left Hong Kong and moved to Sydney. The Hong Kong equivalent of Kiwisaver just gives it all to you in a cheque if you leave rather than transfer it to the next country's scheme. Bank in Australia wouldn't accept the foreign cheque so he posted it back to a friend in Hong Kong to go and pay it into his Hong Kong bank account (which he left open for this purpose), and he was then able to arrange sending it electronically to his Australia account. If your friend still has a US account, and any friends back there this is probably the way to do it other than going to USA themselves.

As an aside, it took a year for my brother to get the cheque because he had given a friend's address before he had one. The friend just chucked it aside in his bedroom instead of passing it on (or even telling him it arrived), then found it a year later when he was moving and packed up his room.

nztim

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#3418348 24-Sep-2025 10:21

My wife has a US Bank account, where you just take a photo of the Cheque with your mobile phone to deposit

PS do download the US banking apps you need a US phone number (voip) and US App Store login

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cddt

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#3418362 24-Sep-2025 11:42

invisibleman18:

Brother had a similar issue when he left Hong Kong and moved to Sydney. The Hong Kong equivalent of Kiwisaver just gives it all to you in a cheque if you leave rather than transfer it to the next country's scheme.

Almost ended up in a similar situation when moving back from a European country. I went into the bank a few weeks before I left to change my address to a NZ address, they said "if you're moving overseas we have to close your account". I asked how I would then receive the apartment bond refund (3 months rent), tax refund after year end, pension cash out etc. Their answer: "oh just don't tell us you're moving and get your mail forwarded". Within a few months I received all the money I was expecting and repatriated it, the postal service stopped forwarding my mail, and the RSA dongle thing they gave me to log in stopped working, I figured they would eventually close the account on their own...

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shk292

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#3418425 24-Sep-2025 13:10

If you have a Wise account, that gives you a US bank account. You then just need someone in the US to pay in the cheque

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