Title 12Banks and BankingRelease 119-73not60

§360 Receiving Checks and Drafts on Deposit at Par; Charges for Collections, Exchange, and Clearances

Title 12 › Chapter 3— FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM › Subchapter IX— POWERS AND DUTIES OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS › § 360

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

Federal Reserve banks must accept checks and similar items at face value from banks or from other Federal Reserve banks. This includes items like NOW accounts, share drafts, and drafts drawn on a depositor’s funds when those items are sent by another Reserve bank. A bank may charge its customers only the actual cost of collecting or sending funds. The Federal Reserve Board must make rules that set the fees banks can charge customers for items cleared through the Reserve banks and the fees Reserve banks can charge for clearing or collecting.

Full Legal Text

Title 12, §360

Banks and Banking — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Every Federal reserve bank shall receive on deposit at par from depository institutions or from Federal reserve banks checks and other items, including negotiable orders of withdrawal and share drafts and drafts drawn upon any of its depositors, and when remitted by a Federal reserve bank, checks and other items, including negotiable orders of withdrawal and share drafts and drafts drawn by any depositor in any other Federal reserve bank or depository institution upon funds to the credit of said depositor in said reserve bank or depository institution. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as prohibiting a depository institution from charging its actual expense incurred in collecting and remitting funds, or for exchange sold to its patrons. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall, by rule, fix the charges to be collected by the depository institutions from its patrons whose checks and other items, including negotiable orders of withdrawal and share drafts are cleared through the Federal reserve bank and the charge which may be imposed for the service of clearing or collection rendered by the Federal reserve bank.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is comprised of the twelfth par. (formerly the thirteenth par.) of section 16 of act Dec. 23, 1913. For classification to this title of other pars. of section 16, see Codification note set out under section 411 of this title.

Amendments

1980—Pub. L. 96–221, which directed amendment of “[t]he thirteenth paragraph of section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 360)” by substituting “depository institutions” for “member banks” wherever appearing and “depository institution” for “member bank” wherever appearing and by inserting “and other items, including negotiable orders of withdrawal and share drafts” after “checks” wherever appearing, was executed to this section to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

section 203(a) of act Aug. 23, 1935, changed name of Federal Reserve Board to Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Effective Date

of 1980 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–221 effective on first day of sixth month which begins after Mar. 31, 1980, see section 108 of Pub. L. 96–221, set out as a note under section 248 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

12 U.S.C. § 360

Title 12Banks and Banking

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60