Foreign Check Deposit Policy

DCU is here to meet your financial needs and realizes that some of our members receive checks drawn on financial institutions outside of the United States. DCU tries to process these checks in a proper and prompt manner. There are some circumstances when checks will be sent for collection and there will be a time delay. Please review the following guidelines. 

Please be aware that exchange rates vary throughout the world. An exchange rate offered within the United States might be very different from that offered abroad. Rates published on the internet are generally for high dollar volume traders. Making the currency exchange on the sending end offers more competitive choice, whereas sending United States dollars to a foreign institution leaves you with their exchange rate. Please be aware that currencies with low exchange volume have high market volatility.

It may be more advantageous to exchange currency at the foreign institution where the rate can be immediately locked, and send the wire or check in United States funds drawn on your foreign bank's "corresponding" bank (usually in New York, if available). The check in United States dollars once deposited often clears without additional fees. This option increases your control over the process, and eliminates the timing risk of currency exchange at the receiving institution.

For the Collection Process all checks must be properly endorsed by all payees. Your DCU member number and the account it will be deposited into need to be on the back of the check. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for processing. If the check is over $5,000 allow 8 plus weeks for processing. Although DCU does not charge a fee, other institutions may. At this time, DCU does not pass along any fees to members except for non-sufficient fees.

Checks Deposited Immediately

• Foreign checks drawn on "US Banks" must have a 9 digit routing number

Non-Acceptable Checks

The following checks CANNOT be accepted:

• Checks drawn on Indian Banks
• Checks drawn on Kenyan Banks
• Checks drawn on Panamanian Banks
• Checks drawn on Citibank Singapore
• Checks made payable to "Cash" (checks must be made payable to a person)

Checks Sent for Collection 

The following checks must be sent for collection:

• Checks that state "US Dollars" but are drawn on a Canadian Bank
• Checks that are $200.00 or greater
• If the check has a code '45' in the MICR line it can be deposited immediately. The exception would be for checks greater than $5,000.00
• Checks under $200.00 that state "US Dollars" without the code '45' will not be processed
• Checks payable in foreign currency - minimum numeric face value for a foreign check is 50 (this is the face value in foreign currency before any exchange rate is applied)
• Checks for any amount that are payable in Canadian currency