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There are several reasons someone else may need to deposit money into your savings account. For example, maybe you're out of town on payday and need your spouse to pick up your paycheck for you. Or perhaps you're a college student and your parents want to send you some spending money. Whatever your reason is for wondering, here's what you need to know about having someone else deposit money into your account.
Can anyone deposit money?
Generally speaking, anyone can deposit money into your savings account. Individual banks have different policies, but the vast majority will accept deposits into an account, as long as you have certain information, which may include the full account number and the full name of the account holder. If the deposit is a check, the account holder may need to endorse it.
Now, you may not need all of this information, but it's better to over-prepare. Many banks are happy to accept a deposit as long as you know the account number where you want the money to end up. For example, TD Bank will allow someone else to deposit your paycheck into your account but points out that the bank doesn't recommend sharing your account information with anyone.
Different banks, different policies
Some banks have stricter policies when it comes to accepting deposits, particularly cash. The biggest example is JPMorganChase, whose Chase banks implemented a policy in 2014 stating that they would no longer accept cash deposits by anyone except the account holder or an authorized user. This is intended to help combat money laundering -- the idea being that a check deposit leaves a paper trail, so it's still OK to accept check deposits from other people.
This matter can be easy enough to get around. For example, if you're a college student who regularly receives money from a parent, it's fairly simple to add a parent as an authorized user for the account. However, my point is that you need to be aware of policies like this before you send someone to deposit cash for you.
The best thing to do
The best answer to whether anyone can deposit into your savings account is that it depends on your individual banking institution. Most banks allow deposits from non-account holders, but yours may not. For a more complete answer, consult your bank's policies, or call your local branch and ask the manager.
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