Today, Uncle will explain Mobile Deposit for beginners—a topic we've covered many times, but there’s still confusion among some.
Let’s start by discussing why checks are needed in the first place. Checks are a form of payment—whether P2P, B2B, or B2P—issued by individuals and organizations. They are either delivered by mail or handed over in person (though the latter is less common nowadays). For a long time, Americans went to bank branches to cash checks, where they received cash in exchange for these documents. But with the advent of mobile banking, they decided to come up with a solution to avoid driving to a branch during working hours for every check transaction (especially when dealing with credit unions, where the nearest branch might be 1,000 km away). Enter mobile deposit. There’s also ATM check deposit, but that’s a different, less online-oriented topic.
Many banks offer instant mobile deposits, such as Ally Bank, Chime, Capital One 360, Chase Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo, Alliant Credit Union, Citibank, and others. However, some banks may have hold periods for certain types of checks, such as those from new customers or checks exceeding a certain amount.
Now, Mobile Deposit.
In a nutshell, the process goes like this: you take your phone, open the banking app, grab the check, and take pictures of both sides. After that, some magic happens, and the funds are credited to your account. More precisely, they go into “pending” status to ensure your “eager hands” don’t withdraw the check before it's charged. The hold duration varies depending on the account type, its activity, and age. Details can usually be found under the Funds Availability section in the account agreement.
Now that we understand what it is, let’s discuss where to get these checks.
We’ll skip over checks sent via Bill Pay/Pay Person because that’s not our topic today. Bill Pay requires at least an address and a drop in the U.S. Briefly, you send a check to an address, wait for it to arrive, and then deposit it where needed—either through mobile deposit or an ATM, as you have the original check.
The downside is finding a reliable supplier. Scammers on Telegram will either rip you off or sell overused material. However, if you find a good supplier, this method can be highly profitable, as such material usually has minimal chargeback risks. After obtaining the check, the only challenge is waiting for the hold period to end before withdrawing the funds or finding a local cash-out option. Since the check includes a name, there are two cash-out options:
Travis CU
Vantage West
Honor CU
PimaFCU
Berkshire Bank
Rally Credit Union
First Tech FCU
Let’s start by discussing why checks are needed in the first place. Checks are a form of payment—whether P2P, B2B, or B2P—issued by individuals and organizations. They are either delivered by mail or handed over in person (though the latter is less common nowadays). For a long time, Americans went to bank branches to cash checks, where they received cash in exchange for these documents. But with the advent of mobile banking, they decided to come up with a solution to avoid driving to a branch during working hours for every check transaction (especially when dealing with credit unions, where the nearest branch might be 1,000 km away). Enter mobile deposit. There’s also ATM check deposit, but that’s a different, less online-oriented topic.
Many banks offer instant mobile deposits, such as Ally Bank, Chime, Capital One 360, Chase Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo, Alliant Credit Union, Citibank, and others. However, some banks may have hold periods for certain types of checks, such as those from new customers or checks exceeding a certain amount.
Now, Mobile Deposit.
In a nutshell, the process goes like this: you take your phone, open the banking app, grab the check, and take pictures of both sides. After that, some magic happens, and the funds are credited to your account. More precisely, they go into “pending” status to ensure your “eager hands” don’t withdraw the check before it's charged. The hold duration varies depending on the account type, its activity, and age. Details can usually be found under the Funds Availability section in the account agreement.
Now that we understand what it is, let’s discuss where to get these checks.
Option 1: Working with logs/brute-force
We’ll skip over checks sent via Bill Pay/Pay Person because that’s not our topic today. Bill Pay requires at least an address and a drop in the U.S. Briefly, you send a check to an address, wait for it to arrive, and then deposit it where needed—either through mobile deposit or an ATM, as you have the original check.
Option 2: Photographing stolen checks from mailboxes
The downside is finding a reliable supplier. Scammers on Telegram will either rip you off or sell overused material. However, if you find a good supplier, this method can be highly profitable, as such material usually has minimal chargeback risks. After obtaining the check, the only challenge is waiting for the hold period to end before withdrawing the funds or finding a local cash-out option. Since the check includes a name, there are two cash-out options:
Travis CU
- Mobile deposit limit: $25,000, hold up to 3 days, recommended to warm up the account.
- Online registration verifies the phone number via CR.
- Eligibility: CA residents from Solano, Yolo, Contra Costa, Merced, Napa, Alameda, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sonoma, Stanislaus counties.
- Opening deposit: $5.
Vantage West
- Accepts any checks but with lower limits ($2,000–$2,500 for new accounts; up to $10,000 for older accounts).
- Requires online registration, AZ residency (Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Maricopa counties), a driver’s license photo, and a phone number added to the CR.
12 Banks with Instant Mobile Deposit:
- Ally Bank
- Capital One 360
- Chase Bank
- Chime
- PNC Bank
- Alliant Credit Union
- Citibank
- Discover Bank
- SoFi
- TD Bank
- US Bank
- Wells Fargo
Honor CU
- Requires MI, IN, WI full profiles with a credit score of 700+.
- Mobile deposit limit: $2,500 per check ($5,000 daily).
- Funds are available the next day, but don’t push the daily limit to avoid holds.
PimaFCU
- Accepts any-name checks for up to $2,500 per deposit.
- Registration: AZ residents, full profiles with DL and matching CR phone number.
Berkshire Bank
- Mobile deposit limit: $10,000, next-day funds availability.
- Suitable for larger amounts but requires splitting deposits to avoid holds.
Rally Credit Union
- Mobile deposit limit: $10,000, hold duration 1–2 days.
- Registration requires TX residency (Aransas, Bee, Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Nueces, San Patricio counties).
First Tech FCU
- ACH accepts any name for up to $10,000.
- Registration can be tricky, and new accounts often experience holds for 4–5 business days.
- Recommended to warm up accounts with small direct deposits ($10–20) before using them for large deposits.
