What Banks Cash Savings Bonds? Bank-by-Bank Policies for Paper Bonds

Any bank or credit union that is a Treasury paying agent may cash paper Series EE, E and I US savings bonds, but none is required to serve a person who is not its established customer. A paying agent is a financial institution qualified under 31 CFR part 321 to pay savings bonds for Treasury.

Of 18 banks and credit unions whose own websites we checked on November 11 and 12, 2026, 3 publish a cashing policy, 2 say they do not cash savings bonds (USAA and Capital One), and 13 publish no policy at all.

When a bank says no, Treasury cashes every paper bond by mail with FS Form 1522 (heirs add the evidence Treasury asks for).

ClaimMyBonds is a private, independent site, not a bank and not Treasury. We read each bank's own page and record the date we checked it. Policies change, so call the branch before you go. The basics of paper and electronic bonds are in our guide to US savings bonds.

Bank-by-Bank Savings Bond Policies (Checked November 11, 2026)

Treasury publishes no list of banks that cash savings bonds, so this table records what each institution's own website said on November 11, 2026 (Capital One's on November 12, 2026). Forums and news stories repeat cash limits for named banks; we leave out every limit a bank does not publish itself.

"No published policy" means the site is silent, not that the bank refuses. The table lists 18 institutions by what they publish, plus the case of a person with no account anywhere.

Source: each institution's own website, checked November 11, 2026; Capital One's article read November 12, 2026. Rules every paying agent follows: 31 CFR part 321; FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022).

We read the five pages below that state a policy or a refusal: four on November 11, 2026 and Capital One's on November 12, 2026.

• U.S. Bank: help article KB0209712
• Bank of America: financial center FAQs
• USAA: savings bonds FAQ
• Capital One: how to cash in US savings bonds
• Consumers Credit Union: how to cash in a savings bond

Banks That Publish a Policy: U.S. Bank, Bank of America, USAA and Capital One

U.S. Bank and Bank of America publish a savings bond cashing policy, and USAA and Capital One say on their own pages that they do not cash savings bonds (USAA checked November 11, 2026; Capital One read November 12, 2026).

U.S. Bank cashes a bond at a branch for the owner or co-owner named on it.

Co-owners are the two people named on the bond joined by "OR"; either one may cash it. You must also sign on a U.S. Bank checking, savings or money market account open at least five years, and bring valid ID.

That five-year account age is U.S. Bank's own condition, longer than the 12 months the Secret Service recommends.

Bank of America redeems a bond at a financial center for an owner or co-owner with an active Bank of America checking or savings account.

Everyone else, its page says, will "need to redeem your bond at a different financial institution or through the U.S. Department of the Treasury using TreasuryDirect." Neither U.S. Bank nor Bank of America states a dollar limit.

USAA answers its own question with one line: "No. USAA is not authorized by the U.S. Treasury to redeem savings bonds in person or by mail." Capital One's article "How to cash in US savings bonds" (February 9, 2023) says in its key takeaways: "Some banks and credit unions may be able to cash savings bonds, but that service isn't currently available at Capital One."

Banks With No Published Policy: 3 Questions to Ask the Branch

Thirteen of the institutions, Chase and Wells Fargo among them, publish no savings bond cashing policy, so ask the branch the 3 questions Treasury suggests. Silence on a website is not a refusal. TreasuryDirect's cashing page tells owners to contact a bank where they have an account and ask the three questions below.

1. Will you cash my savings bonds?
2. How much will you cash at one time?
3. What identification or other documents do I need?

Ask also whether you need an appointment; U.S. Bank's page links to appointment scheduling. TreasuryDirect warns that banks "vary in how much they will cash at one time, or if they cash savings bonds at all."

A map search for banks near you shows branches, not which branch pays savings bonds, because Treasury publishes no locator of paying agents.

Credit Unions and Local Banks That Cash Savings Bonds

Credit unions are eligible paying agents under 31 CFR 321.2(a) and follow the same Treasury rules as banks. Consumers Credit Union in Michigan, for example, says members can redeem a paper bond "at any Consumers office" (page dated September 24, 2025; checked November 11, 2026).

In NCUA Legal Opinion 01-0226 (April 2001), the National Credit Union Administration told a federal credit union that, as a paying agent, it was required to redeem savings bonds for nonmembers. NCUA now marks that opinion "Historic", and it predates FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022), which leaves non-customer cashing to the institution.

Local and regional banks, Bank of Hawaii among them, decide for themselves within the same federal rules. Your state does not change those rules: an owner in California asks the same three questions as an owner in Hawaii.

Can a Savings Bond Be Cashed at Any Bank?

No: any paying agent may cash an eligible paper bond, but Treasury's current guidance lets each bank decide whether to serve non-customers and new customers. That leaves three routes. The first is the bank where you have banked longest.

Treasury's guide for banks lists cashing for "an established account holder" with proper identification as "Required." The second is another bank that chooses to serve you. The third is Treasury by mail.

None of the five published policies or refusals in the table serves people without an account. Mail needs no account at a particular bank, but Treasury pays only by direct deposit, so the payee needs a US bank account.

What the Regulation Says: 31 CFR 321.10(a)

31 CFR 321.10(a) says a paying agent "is required to redeem eligible securities during its regular business hours for any presenter, whether or not a customer," who proves to be the owner or co-owner. That is the eCFR text of part 321 as of November 6, 2026.

The same section says an agent "is encouraged, but is not required" to redeem for a surviving beneficiary or a legal representative. A surviving beneficiary is the person named "P.O.D." (payable on death) on the bond; a legal representative is an executor or administrator of the owner's estate.

The duty text dates from 53 FR 37511 (1988), as amended by 55 FR 35396 (1990). The last rule amending part 321 was 77 FR 16165 (March 20, 2012), and we found no later rule or proposal (Federal Register, checked November 11, 2026).

What Treasury Tells Banks Now: FS Publication 0022

FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022), Treasury's guide for banks, makes cashing for non-customers and new customers optional. Paying someone with no account, or a recently opened one, "is at the option of your financial institution," says the Guide to Cashing Savings Bonds.

The Secret Service, the guide adds, recommends that a bank not cash bonds for a customer established there less than 12 months. That is a recommendation, not a Treasury rule.

The Federal Reserve announced the non-customer option on December 21, 2021; the current guide is Rev. October 2022. Section 321.10(a) has not been amended to match, so the regulation and the guide point in different directions. In practice banks follow the guide, so a branch may still say no; Treasury by mail remains open.

The $1,000 Identification Line Is Not a Daily Limit

The "$1,000" figure in forums is Treasury's ceiling for identifying a stranger by an ID document alone, not a federal limit on what a bank may cash per day.

FS Publication 0022 says an identification document is "used only for payments of $1,000 or less." Part 321's Appendix, item 11(a), says paying more than $1,000 in one transaction on documents alone "should be particularly avoided."

Above $1,000, a bank relies on stronger identification: an account at least 12 months old, or identification by another person. A bond worth more than $1,000 is not barred at a bank; it needs more than an ID card.

Each bank still sets its own amounts, which is why the second branch question asks how much it cashes at one time.

Why Fewer Banks Cash Paper Savings Bonds

Two federal provisions bear on a bank's choice to cash savings bonds: Treasury ended its per-bond fee on April 11, 2012, and a bank carries the loss on a wrong payment.

The fee notice, 77 FR 20123 (published April 3, 2012), ended the 30-cent fee Treasury paid for each redeemed bond presented through its EZ CLEAR system.

A paying agent is also liable for an erroneous payment unless it acted without fault or negligence (31 U.S.C. 3126(a); 31 CFR 321.15). A bank that pays the wrong person can be left with the loss. The Secret Service's 12-month recommendation, quoted in Treasury's guide, also bears on cashing for new customers.

A bank can also leave the program. Under 31 CFR 321.5(b), the Treasury Retail Securities Site at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis ends an agent's qualification on the agent's written request, after a final accounting. The same site qualifies new agents, but it publishes no public list of them.

Banks check a bond's value and validity with Treasury's Savings Bond Valuation and Verification (SBVV) tool, which is not open to the public. Over-the-counter sales of paper EE and I bonds ended on January 1, 2012 (76 FR 66855).

What No Bank Can Cash: Series, Signers and Copies

No bank may cash six series (F, G, H, HH, J and K), pay a signer acting under a power of attorney, or accept a copy of a bond, under 31 CFR part 321. The same rules bar young bonds, partial cashing and fees.

The table below shows what a bank may and may not do. Types of US savings bonds differ in where they are cashed; every series and its issue dates are in our guide to types of US savings bonds.

Source: 31 CFR part 321, eCFR as of November 6, 2026; FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022); TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026.

Series HH bonds all reached final maturity by August 1, 2024, and are worth their face value, the amount printed on the bond. Treasury alone pays them, by direct deposit.

Series H, F, G, J and K bonds also go to Treasury by mail with FS Form 1522. An attorney-in-fact, the person named in a power of attorney, cashes by mail too.

Walmart, Check Cashers and Post Offices

Walmart, check-cashing stores and post offices cannot cash savings bonds, because only incorporated, supervised, deposit-taking financial institutions can be paying agents (31 CFR 321.2(a)).

The rule names commercial banks, trust companies, savings banks, savings and loan and building and loan associations, credit unions, cash depositories, and industrial banks or similar institutions. A retailer or a post office is none of these.

Buying or selling a bond privately does not work either. TreasuryDirect warns: "Do not buy savings bonds from someone else or in an online auction site. You cannot cash them."

Savings bonds are not transferable and cannot be pledged as collateral for a loan (31 CFR 353.15 and 353.16 for Series EE; parallel rules in parts 315 and 360).

If a Bank Refuses to Cash Your Savings Bonds

Mail the bonds to Treasury with FS Form 1522 when a bank says no: Treasury cashes every paper savings bond by mail, with no limit on value or number. Work through the five steps below in order.

1. Check a paper EE or E bond's value in our savings bond calculator, built on Treasury's published value files, and match its series against the table above.
2. Ask the bank why it said no: no account, an account too new, the amount, the series or the signer. A refusal based on a rule in the table applies at every bank.
3. Try the bank or credit union where you have banked longest.
4. Mail the bonds with FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026) to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. Above $1,000 in total value, sign before a notary or certifying officer (a bank official who certifies signatures); otherwise enclose a copy of your driver's license, passport, state ID or military ID. Payment is by direct deposit only, three months or longer for bonds in your name (as of November 11, 2026).
5. Turn down offers to buy the bond or cash it for a cut, a pattern seen in savings bond scams; Treasury pays only the owner or another person entitled to payment.

Complaints about a national bank or federal savings association go to OCC Customer Assistance at 1-800-613-6743. The OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) supervises those banks.

Its HelpWithMyBank.gov savings bond answer (last reviewed April 2021) says most banks redeem bonds for people with a relationship. Treasury Retail Securities Services, the office that processes mailed bonds, answers at 844-284-2676.

Other Ways to Cash Paper Savings Bonds When No Bank Will

Paper savings bonds are cashed only at a paying agent or by mail to Treasury; TreasuryDirect, Treasury's website for electronic bonds, cashes only electronic bonds online.

Treasury offers no walk-in counter, so FS Form 1522 by mail is the route when no bank will pay. Bank, mail and online routes are compared in our guide on how to cash savings bonds.

Converting paper bonds to electronic through SmartExchange is not needed to cash them, and it takes nine months or longer (TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026). Series H and HH bonds cannot be converted.

Bank Savings Bond Questions

Will the bank give me a 1099-INT for my savings bonds?

Yes: a bank that cashes your savings bond is responsible for your 1099-INT, the IRS form reporting the interest, at cashing or the following January. Paying agents report interest of $10 or more (31 CFR 321.7(g)). The interest is federally taxable but exempt from state and local income tax (31 U.S.C. 3124); our tax guide explains when savings bond interest is taxable.

Do banks charge a fee to cash savings bonds?

No: a paying agent "shall not make any charge whatever" for redeeming a savings bond (31 CFR 321.23(c)). Treasury charges no fee by mail either, though a notary may charge where FS Form 1522 needs certification (above $1,000).

What do I need to bring to the bank to cash savings bonds?

Bring the original paper bonds and valid ID to the bank where you hold your oldest account; the owner or co-owner named on the bond presents it. A parent can cash a child's bond only if the child lives with that parent or the parent has custody (31 CFR 321.7(c)). A bank may pay an owner whose name changed by marriage (321.7(b)); other name changes need evidence that a bank may not accept (321.9(i)).

Can a bank cash a savings bond that is not in my name?

A bank pays the owner or co-owner named on the bond, and it may never pay an attorney-in-fact (31 CFR 321.9(c)). Paying a surviving beneficiary or an estate's legal representative is optional (321.10(a)). Heirs a bank turns away cash by mail, which takes five months or longer for bonds not in your name (as of November 11, 2026). How heirs cash or reissue inherited bonds depends on whether the owner named a co-owner or a beneficiary.

Can I deposit a paper savings bond with my phone or at an ATM?

No: a bank may not accept an image or copy of a paper savings bond (31 CFR 321.25), so mobile and ATM deposits do not work. Chase's mobile deposit article (August 22, 2023) says savings bonds "may not be" eligible.

Is there a limit on how many savings bonds a bank will cash?

Treasury publishes no daily cap for banks; each bank decides how much it cashes at one time, and Treasury by mail has no limit on value or number. A bank may not pay part of a bond (31 CFR 321.9(l)), and TreasuryDirect says a paper bond cannot be cashed in part.

Can a bank cash electronic savings bonds?

No: a bank cannot cash electronic savings bonds, which their owners redeem in a TreasuryDirect account: the whole bond, or part of it in amounts of $25 or more as long as at least $25 remains (31 CFR 363.54). Since October 28, 2026, TreasuryDirect login works only through ID.me. Owners of electronic savings bonds hold them in that account, never on paper.

Can my bank tell me whether a savings bond was already cashed?

Your bank may be able to tell you whether a paper EE or I bond was already cashed or replaced. Banks check serial numbers against a Treasury file of lost, stolen or never received bonds (FS Publication 0022). If the bank cannot tell you, the owner or co-owner sends Treasury Retail Securities Services a signed letter listing the serial numbers, without the bonds, to P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.

More on Cashing Savings Bonds

Six cashing situations go beyond what a bank counter settles, each with its own Treasury rule.

• Cashing savings bonds after a name change: sign both names, with the reason.
• Cashing a savings bond in a child's name: Treasury sets no exact age.
• Cashing US savings bonds from outside the United States: a US consular officer can certify.
• Convert paper savings bonds to electronic: one way only.
• Savings bond signature certification: notary, certifying officer or Medallion stamp.
• Found old savings bonds: bonds never expire (Executive Order 13968).

Bank policies checked November 11, 2026, on each institution's own website; rules checked against the Treasury sources named above. See how we check bank policies.