Any sum payable on a check, draft, or similar instrument, except money orders, traveler's checks, and other similar instruments subject to § 55.1-2504, on which a banking or financial organization is directly liable, including cashier's checks and certified checks, that has been outstanding for more than five years after it was payable, or after its issuance if payable on demand, is presumed abandoned unless the owner, within five years, has communicated in writing with the banking or financial organization concerning it or otherwise indicated an interest as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file prepared by an employee of the banking or financial organization.
A holder may not deduct from the amount of any instrument subject to this section any charges imposed by reason of the failure to present the instrument for payment unless there is a valid and enforceable written contract between the holder and the owner of the instrument pursuant to which the holder may impose those charges and the holder regularly imposes those charges and does not regularly reverse or otherwise cancel those charges with respect to such instruments.
1984, c. 121, § 55-210.3:2; 1985, c. 294; 2019, c. 712.