A stop payment is an order by a customer of a financial institution (bank, savings bank, or credit union) or to a money order issuer to refuse to pay a check or draft drawn on the customer's account, and to return the draft to the depositor unpaid.
[1] Stop payments are used in cases where the depositor does not want the check to be paid.
The reasons can include: Stop payments are charged a fee by the customer's financial institution, usually the same as a fee for a bounced check.
The customer can usually call their financial institution to ask for an immediate stop payment to be issued, with the requirement they come in within a few days and sign a written order.