# Stop payment

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{{Short description|Request to cancel a payment}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2024}}
A '''stop payment''' is an order by a customer of a financial institution ([bank](/source/bank), [savings bank](/source/savings_bank), or [credit union](/source/credit_union)) or to a [money order](/source/money_order) issuer to refuse to pay a check or draft drawn on the customer's account, and to return the draft to the depositor unpaid.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is a Stop Payment And How Does It Work? – Forbes Advisor |url=https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/stop-payment/ |access-date=2024-01-08 |website=www.forbes.com|date=14 June 2022 }}</ref>

Stop payments are used in cases where the depositor does not want the check to be paid. The reasons can include:
* The customer has a dispute with the party that the check was given to, and wants to withhold payment.
* The check was lost or stolen.
* The check was forged or the amount was raised.
* The customer does not have enough money to cover the check (typically, a stop payment on a check has less of a dishonorable appearance than a check that [bounces](/source/Non-sufficient_funds)).

Stop payments are charged a fee by the customer's financial institution, usually the same as a fee for a bounced check.  The customer can usually call their financial institution to ask for an immediate stop payment to be issued, with the requirement they come in within a few days and sign a written order.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Banking terms

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stop payment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_payment) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_payment?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.