In Runaway Jury (2003), Marlee meets jury consultant Rankin Fitch:
Fitch: What's your price?
Marlee: Ten million. Non-negotiable.
Fitch took out a check:
Fitch: This is made out to cash. Five hundred thousand dollars…
…to walk away from my jury.
What does "made out to" mean?
Best Answer
In this context. Fitch is writing a check. That is a written and signed instruction to the bank to pay someone some money from his bank account. Usually you write the name of the person you want to pay on the check. We would say.
It is (or used to be) possible to write "cash" instead of a name, in which case the bank would pay the check in cash, instead of into a named bank account. That is less secure, but it is also anonymous. See https://www.fiscaltiger.com/making-a-check-out-to-cash/
In the UK, most banks don't allow cheques made out to cash, as they are too much of a security and crime risk. Cheques are now almost completely obsolete in the UK; I've probably written about 2 in ten years. It is possible to make a check out to cash in the USA.