How can I convince my bank to accept deposits without my signature?

Question

My credit union doesn't accept any check deposits without signature endorsement from the recipient. I have a joint savings account with my spouse. They do not accept checks made out to both me and my spouse if only one of us has signed the check. They do not accept checks made out to me if they are unsigned even when my spouse delivers them in person.

Several other money.SE answers make clear that signature endorsement is not necessary, and specifically point to Uniform Commercial Code §3-206. What arguments can I use to persuade my credit union to accept deposits to my account without my signature, at least from my spouse?

Answer 1

Few banks will accept unendorsed checks. I can't think of any reason I would want them to that doesn't involve attempted fraud.

If you really need this to happen, consider asking for bank-to-bank funds transfer rather than a physical check; that's how direct deposit does it, and these days it's easy to do from the source account 's webpage or app.

If it's a shared account, the rules for who needs to sign are set when the account is opened. If it's "dual custody" then all the account holders must authorize any withdrawal; I'm not sure whether requiring all the signatures for deposit is at all common, but the answer may be to open a new account specifying that one signature will suffice... and that may require you open it at another bank.

No bank or credit union does everything. Shop for the services you need, and remember that you can have accounts in multiple places if that's what is needed.