Indorsement and Payment of Checks Drawn on the United States Treasury

Résumé

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) at the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is proposing to amend its regulations governing the payment of checks drawn on the United States Treasury. Specifically, to prevent Treasury checks from being negotiated after cancellation by Treasury or a payment certifying agency--also known as payments over cancellation (POCs)--Fiscal Service is proposing amendments that would require financial institutions use the Treasury Check Verification System (TCVS), or other similar authorized system, to verify that Treasury checks are both authentic and valid. This proposal also contains conforming amendments, including the addition of a definition of "cancellation" or "canceled." Finally, the proposal would amend the reasons for which a Federal Reserve Bank must decline payment of a Treasury check to include prior cancellation of the check, so that Fiscal Service may place what is commonly referred to as a "true stop" on a Treasury check and avoid a POC.