To send cash to a bank account, the simplest path depends on whose account it is. For your own account, walk into a branch or use a deposit-accepting ATM. For someone else’s account, most of the largest U.S. banks no longer let you hand cash to a teller on their behalf, so you’ll use a retail reload service, a money order, a wire transfer, or a peer-to-peer payment app instead.
What to Bring or Look Up First
Depositing into your own account at a branch requires a government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport, plus a deposit slip with your account number. Banks verify identity under federal Customer Identification Program rules, which require unexpired government-issued photo ID.1FFIEC BSA/AML. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Programs for Banks
Sending funds to someone else’s account is a different checklist: their full legal name, their bank’s nine-digit routing number, and their account number. Confirm the routing number with the recipient. Many banks use different routing numbers for different regions and for different transaction types, and a wrong number delays or misdirects the transfer.
Depositing Cash Into Your Own Account
Handing bills to a teller is still the fastest and cheapest way to fund an account you own. Fill out a deposit slip, hand over the cash, and the teller counts it in front of you and prints a receipt. Under federal Regulation CC, cash deposited in person with a teller must be available for withdrawal by the next business day.2eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-Day Availability
ATMs that accept cash work outside branch hours. Insert your debit card, enter your PIN, choose the deposit option, and feed bills into the scanner. The machine counts each note, shows you the total, and prints a receipt when you confirm. Cash deposited at an ATM owned by your own bank follows the same next-business-day availability rule. Use another bank’s ATM and the hold can stretch to the second business day after the deposit.2eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-Day Availability
Why You Often Can’t Deposit Cash Into Someone Else’s Account
If you’re trying to move cash to another person’s bank account, expect to be turned away at the counter. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Chase all prohibit non-account-holders from making cash deposits into consumer accounts. The policies target fraud and money laundering, but they also block routine transactions like helping a family member with rent or repaying a friend.
Smaller banks and credit unions sometimes still accept third-party cash. Call the recipient’s bank before making the trip. If the answer is no, use one of the methods below.
Retail Cash Reload Services
Reload networks such as Green Dot and Western Union let you convert cash into account funds at pharmacies, grocery stores, and convenience stores. The mechanics vary. With some services, the recipient generates a barcode inside their banking app, you hand the cashier the barcode and your cash, and the funds move electronically to the linked account. With others, you load cash onto a reloadable prepaid card that then transfers funds onward.
Fees typically run up to about $5.95 per transaction. Most transfers post within minutes, though some take up to an hour. Keep the cashier’s receipt. It carries the reference number and is your only proof if the money doesn’t appear. Reload networks also cap daily and monthly amounts, so check the specific limits before showing up with a large sum.
Money Orders
Money orders work when a reload service isn’t available or when you need to mail a payment. You buy one with cash (or a debit card), fill in the recipient’s name, and deliver or mail it. The recipient deposits it like a check. Because you prepay at purchase, money orders don’t bounce the way personal checks can.
The U.S. Postal Service sells domestic money orders up to $1,000 each. The fee is $2.55 for amounts up to $500 and $3.60 for amounts between $500.01 and $1,000.3United States Postal Service. Money Orders Grocery stores and check-cashing outlets sell money orders too, often at similar prices. For amounts above $1,000, you’ll buy more than one.
Depositing a Money Order
The recipient can deposit at a branch or through their bank’s mobile deposit feature by photographing the front and endorsed back of the money order. Under Regulation CC, U.S. Postal Service money orders deposited in person generally follow a two-business-day availability schedule.2eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-Day Availability Mobile deposits can take longer, and some banks apply extended holds to remotely deposited items.
Spotting a Fake Money Order
USPS money order fraud is common enough that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service publishes a guide. Legitimate USPS money orders carry a Pony Express rider watermark visible when held to light, a “United States Postal Service” watermark on the right side, and an embedded security thread with alternating “USPS” lettering. Newer versions include a QR code that links to the USPS verification tool.4USPIS. How to Spot a Fake Postal Money Order Watermarks visible without holding the paper to light, or dollar amounts that show discoloration or altered paper fibers, are warning signs. Verify any USPS money order by calling 1-866-459-7822 or using the USPS verification tool online.
Wires and Peer-to-Peer Apps After You’ve Deposited
Once cash is sitting in your own account, two options move it to someone else’s.
A domestic wire transfer sends funds directly from your account to the recipient’s, usually within a few hours. You’ll need the recipient’s full name, routing number, and account number. Banks and providers like Western Union process wires; fees vary by institution. Wires suit larger amounts where speed matters.
Peer-to-peer apps handle smaller everyday transfers. Zelle is built into many banking apps, sends between accounts at different institutions within minutes, and typically charges no fee. Venmo and Cash App let you send from a linked bank account, though the recipient may then need to move funds from an app balance to their bank, which takes one to three business days for a standard transfer or completes instantly for a small fee.
The $10,000 Reporting Rule
Any cash deposit over $10,000 triggers a Currency Transaction Report. The bank files it with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network automatically, regardless of the reason for the deposit.5eCFR. 31 CFR 1010.311 – Filing Obligations for Reports of Transactions in Currency A CTR is routine paperwork, not an accusation. Deposit the money normally.
Trying to avoid the report is what causes trouble. Splitting a $15,000 deposit into two $7,500 deposits on consecutive days is “structuring,” and it’s a federal crime even when the underlying money is entirely legitimate.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5324 – Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirement Prohibited Banks are trained to spot the pattern, and they file Suspicious Activity Reports on deposits as low as $5,000 when the transactions look designed to duck the threshold.7Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Suspicious Activity Reporting (Structuring) A structuring conviction can bring up to five years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000. If structuring is part of a broader pattern of illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a year, the penalties rise to ten years and $500,000.
Gift Tax on Large Transfers
Sending a large amount to another person’s account can count as a gift for federal tax purposes. In 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year with no gift tax reporting obligation.8Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Going over that doesn’t necessarily mean you owe tax; it means filing a gift tax return, with the excess counted against your lifetime exclusion. Repaying a debt or paying for goods or services isn’t a gift, but keep records of the purpose in case the IRS asks.