Data Elements
Date
The date is a required data element for a check. It represents the day on or after the transfer of the check amount may take place. It is usually placed in the upper right portion of the check so it does not interfere with the convenience amount field. The common format is Month, Day and Year, however, the military format of Day, Month and Year is also acceptable.
Amount
The amount of the check is a required element for negotiation. The amount usually appears at least twice on the check. The amount printed in numbers is called the convenience amount. The amount printed in words is sometimes referred to as the legal amount, this is the amount that applies if there is a difference between the two amount fields. The amount may also be printed a third time on the check in a secure font, intended to make alteration of the amount field difficult. See Chapter 6 and Appendix B for information on Source Technologies’ Secure Numeric Font.
Convenience Amount
The convenience amount location is specified in ANSI X9.7. The basic location is illustrated in Figure 3.1. Since this amount can be machine scanned, its location and design should be kept within the specifications. The amount beginning with the dollar sign should be left justified within the scan area with numbers spaced normally to the right. The dollars and cents should be separated by a decimal point with the cents printed in the same size font as the rest of the field. Embedded commas should not be used. The convenience amount background should have good reflectance so it does not interfere with optical scanning (see ANSI X9.7).
The convenience amount should be printed in a simple, fixed pitch font. We recommend our ICR Secure Numeric Font (see Appendix C). It was designed to be easily read by image capture equipment and is also a fraud deterrent. A fixed pitch courier font, or if available,
Note: The Source Technologies’ Secure Numeric Font (see Appendix B) should not be used in the convenience amount since it is not a machine readable font.
Amount In Words
The amount in words (sometimes called the legal amount) is normally located either above or below and to the left of the convenience amount. The area for the amount in words should be entirely filled to make alterations difficult. The amount should start at the far left of the line with the words placed immediately adjacent to each other. The cents need not be written out. They may be expressed as a fraction (60/100), and should be placed immediately to the right of the dollar amount and followed by a line or other space filler to inhibit alteration.
Example: One hundred | DOLLARS |
Given the available area on the document, you may need to use a smaller font when printing larger value amounts.
ST Secure MICR Printer User’s Guide | 9 | 2006, Source Technologies |
March 2006 |
| All Rights Reserved |