PayPal iPhone app lets you deposit checks with a picture

[Matthew DeCarlo]

PayPal has updated its iPhone application with a feature that lets users deposit checks without having to visit a bank. Apple smartphone owners can add checks directly to their PayPal balance by submitting a couple of pictures. Simply open the PayPal App, tap Tools on the bottom bar, choose Add Money From Checks and follow the prompts. The process consists of taking two pictures (front and back of the check) and entering the check amount -- much easier than trekking downtown.

Deposits take roughly six business days to appear in your PayPal account and the company recommends holding onto your checks for 15 days in case there's a problem. It's worth noting that you can't deposit more than $1,000 per day or $3,000 per month, so you might not be able to skip bank trips entirely -- unless you happen to use Chase or State Farm Bank, which have iPhone apps with a similar feature.

Unfortunately, PayPal won't let you automatically forward the money to your bank account, but you can transfer it manually after the check clears. It will also issue a debit card upon request, which functions as a standard bank debit card and provides instant access to your balance. The PayPal application, check deposits, bank transfers and debit card are all free -- though you do get hit with ATM fees.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/40581-paypal-iphone-app-lets-you-deposit-checks-with-a-picture.html

 

[Jesse]

For me, that's too long to wait for a check to clear, since most checks I receive are not very large, I can deposit them in a Wellsfargo atm and have access to the first $100 of it instantly. I suppose if I received larger checks more often, it would be useful. But then the 1,000/3,000 dollar limits would get in the way.

 

[agissi]

Too long here too but I want to know how this works. How do they know its a legitimate check?

 

[Guest]

"How do they know its a legitimate check?"

Given that you can just stop by OfficeDepot or any other larger office supply store and pick up a box of blank checks that Quicken and other software will print on, I believe the days of worrying about whether a check is fake or not are pretty much moot.

P.S. Banks don't care if the check is real or not because they make it up in bounced check fee -- try depositing a check that someone did not have enough funds for and see what happens, YOU, the depositor get nailed with fees. The worst part of it is that there is no way that a bank will tell you if a check is covered or not...