Anyone here work at a bank?

[LinuxRandal]

I am trying to find out about check processing. We received a letter at work a while back (I never saw it) about the ink in checks and allowed colors. Now the boss, normally gets things screwed up, and I am trying to find the regulations on this, so I know when/where to correct him.

Thanks

[LCHIEN]

rule no. one - don't correct the boss unless its absolutely necessary.

[pierhogunn2]

I believe I can answer this question, I have worked for a bank for 13 years

blue ink and black ink are really the only acceptable colors for checks, other colors, red / green / purple may not get read by the automated sorting machines, and then you stand the chance of getting a check delayed

All checks are processed by humans on machines that read the check, read the MICR code, and so forth and so on

1 thing to remember, the numbers written in the little box are just a convenience for us flesh and blood types, the actual written numbers that are spelled out is what is processesed...

if you are unsure, you can always call the bank that your business uses, and ask to speak with someone in the Automated clearing house, or even your customer service rep, who may not have the answer, but should be able to find the definitive answer for you... ( if they can't then you should probably find another bank) I have one I could suggest . . .

[crokett]

if the written numbers are processed then those machines have some good OCR to read my handwriting on checks .

[pierhogunn2]

if the written numbers are processed then those machines have some good OCR to read my handwriting on checks .

no the machines usually don't process that, it's the humans sitting at the machine that key in the numbers on a 9key style keyboard

[RAFlorida]

My mom worked at a bank some years

before she passed on. As stated earlier on, black and blue are the only colors acceptable.

[atgcpaul]

no the machines usually don't process that, it's the humans sitting at the machine that key in the numbers on a 9key style keyboard

This is true. Someone wrote me a check for X amount but in the written
portion, the value was less (Y). I deposited at the ATM and keyed in X.
A few weeks later, I got a letter saying they only deposited Y.

Considering it was my wife who wrote me the check (after 8 years of
marriage, we still don't have joint accounts), I didn't have too much trouble
getting her to write me the difference. She did make me produce the letter,
though.

Paul

[pelligrini]

Several years ago I mailed a check to the ADO for our dart association's dues. I'm not sure how it happened but only the payee, the date, and the numerical amount was on the check. It didn't have the written amount, nor the two required signatures. It went through both banks with no problems.

[sscherin]

My wife wrote out a $1,500 check but the bank cashed it for $15.00 as she had forgotten to write hundred after Fifteen.. The Numbers were correct.

We got a call from a confused sales agent a few weeks later when they figured it out..
I don't know why she wrote it like that. I was taught to write it as "One Thousand Five Hundred"

[LinuxRandal]

rule no. one - don't correct the boss unless its absolutely necessary.

Lets just say, I am in a very weird situation. Between two bosses, who are brothers, both I have worked with for more then 20 years, and I have seniority of one of them, even though he is an owner. And their family considers me family.
I have purposely stayed off the company accounts (they sign the checks), as that is where I have always expected to be problems. I have been the deciding vote before, but I explain my reasoning, so the other knows why (conservative with the business). Don't correct any more then you have to.

I believe I can answer this question, I have worked for a bank for 13 years

blue ink and black ink are really the only acceptable colors for checks, other colors, red / green / purple may not get read by the automated sorting machines, and then you stand the chance of getting a check delayed

BINGO, you have hit most of the nail on its head. Now the issue the boss has, for the most part, isn't the color, he thinks gel pens are the issue. (wants to put up a no gel pens sign). When I was a kid, they taught you blue or black ink on a check and legal documents. The issue came up with the fact that the gel pen (which the local police, and banks did a segment recommending last year, due to check washing), has a LIGHT blue pen. See:

http://www.uniball-na.com/main.taf?p=2,2,3

So it appears it is more then just blue or black, it is Dark blue.

Thanks

[leehljp]

"No Gel pens" Some Gels smear, some papers (very smooth and waxy but tough type of papers) make gels smear even more. I changed to rollerball with gel last year and with forms here in Japan, the smooth papers caused all kinds of smearing. Some gels on certain papers do not dry fast. That might be his complaint.

However I read a few articles some time ago - may have been posted here or somewhere else concerning "Check Washing" in which certain (most) kinds of pens and inks were subject to washing.

Do a google on "Check Washing" and you will get many hits.

The advantage of Gels:
http://www.ckfraud.org/washing.html

"WHAT TYPE OF PEN TO USE WHEN WRITING A CHECK:
If you are a ballpoint pen lover, switch to black ink when security is important. Among water-based inks, remember that gels are the most impervious. But when you're writing checks to pay the monthly bills, only one type of ink, the kind in gel pens, has been found to be counterfeit proof to acetone or any other chemical used in "check washing." Most ballpoint and marker inks are dye based, meaning that the pigments are dissolved in the ink.
Based on recent ink security studies, we highly recommend that you use a gel pen, like the Uniball 207 that uses gel ink that contains tiny particles of color that are trapped into the paper, making check washing a lot more difficult. The pen sells for about $2. Personally I sign all my checks and important documents with one. But if you don't want to switch, do not hesitate to to use your favorite fountain pen. Just fill it with ink in one of the more durable colors and enjoy!"

[cgallery]

My wife wrote out a $1,500 check but the bank cashed it for $15.00 as she had forgotten to write hundred after Fifteen.. The Numbers were correct.

We got a call from a confused sales agent a few weeks later when they figured it out..
I don't know why she wrote it like that. I was taught to write it as "One Thousand Five Hundred"

Back in the day I wrote a lot of checks for inventory and used "fifteen-hundred" over "one-thousand-five-hundred" to save time and space on the line.

Now everything is done electronically.