What Do You Need to Be Bonded for Cash Handling?

Employers who hire people who will be responsible for handling cash often want more than the applicant’s word that they won’t mismanage or even steal from the business. One of the ways business owners can protect themselves from potentially unscrupulous employees is to require them to be bonded. For applicants, that means becoming familiar with what is needed to become bonded.

If you must be bonded to handle cash, you may have to secure the bond through a surety company. According to SuretyBonds.com, you may be legally required to purchase a surety bond depending on your position or where you work. Staffers at the bonding company will evaluate your background to determine if you are eligible for a bond. Be prepared to pay an application fee, which can vary widely, starting at $100. In addition to the money you will need to pay the application fee, you will also need to have money to pay the premiums for your bond.

One of the things you will need to be bonded to handle cash is good credit. The company that provides you with the bond will do an extensive background check on you, and that will include checking your credit. They will be looking for things such as how much debt you are carrying and how often you have been late paying your bills.

As part of the background check, bond providers will also check your work history. This will allow them to get an idea of your work ethic. Specifically, your work history will be evaluated to see how long you have stayed on previous jobs. The bond provider will also evaluate your work history to determine if you have been terminated from a job, and the reason.

You will also need to have a clean criminal history. Bond providers will review your criminal history as part of the background check. Considering you are trying to get a bond to be able to handle cash, your work history will be checked to see if you have ever been arrested and/or convicted of theft.

If you have committed a fraudulent or dishonest act, or have demonstrated other behaviors that cast doubt on your honesty then you may be considered high-risk and unable to secure a bond.

If you know that a background check will turn up negative information, you may consider a fidelity bonds. The Federal Bonding Program is designed to help people who are considered high-risk because of criminal acts they have committed, such as theft. The bonds are issued to employers, free of charge to cover high-risk employees. Among those who can be helped by securing fidelity bonds are convicted felons, substance abusers and people with bad credit. Sometimes, people in these groups cannot secure jobs handling cash. So the fidelity bond is a way of giving people who have run afoul of the law a second chance.