Mail banking is a service provided by a financial institution

Financial institution

In financial economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. Probably the most important financial service provided by financial institutions is acting as financial intermediaries...

 which allows its customers to deposit cheque

Cheque

A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...

s into their account

Deposit account

A deposit account is a current account, savings account, or other type of bank account, at a banking institution that allows money to be deposited and withdrawn by the account holder. These transactions are recorded on the bank's books, and the resulting balance is recorded as a liability for the...

 by mail

Mail

Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...

. It is primarily used by virtual bank

Virtual bank

A direct bank is a bank without any branch network. It offers its financial services by:* Telephone banking* Online banking* Automated teller machines * Mail banking* Mobile banking...

s (as they may not offer branches

Branch (banking)

A branch, banking center or financial center is a retail location where a bank, credit union, or other financial institution offers a wide array of face-to-face and automated services to its customers....

 or ATMs

Automated teller machine

An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...

 that accept deposits) and by customers who live too far from a branch. Typically, the institution that advertises such a service will provide its own self-addressed stamped envelope

Self-addressed stamped envelope

A self-addressed stamped envelope , stamped self-addressed envelope , or just self addressed envelope in the UK, is an envelope with the sender's name and address on it, with affixed paid postage and mailed to a company or private individual...

s as a courtesy.