Section 2: MICR Overview
2 MICR Overview
MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. All MICR documents have a MICR line with numbers and symbols printed in a MICR font with magnetically chargeable toner. Each character of the MICR font has a unique waveform when sensed magnetically.
Financial institutions and the Federal Reserve use the MICR line to identify and sort checks. The
The Check Processing System
As a MICR document travels through the check clearing system it is processed an average of about seven times by high speed reader/sorter machines. Some checks are read up to 30 times or more by these machines. Reader/sorter machines charge the toner in the MICR line and then read the line with a magnetically sensitive reader.
The MICR line contains numbers and symbols to indicate the check serial number, the routing number of the drawee institution and the makers’ account number. The institution of first deposit encodes the check amount in the MICR line to be read by the reader/sorter equipment. Checks travel through reader/sorters at up to 20
MICR Printing Today
Congress established the Federal Reserve System (FRS) in 1913. Today most commercial banks in the United States belong to the FRS. Many other depository institutions provide banking and checking account services to the public. These other institutions, such as some credit unions, savings and loan associations and nonmember banks, are not formally part of the FRS. However, they have access to the payment services it provides and are subject to many of the FRS regulations.
In 1958, because of the explosive growth of check usage, the American Bankers Association selected the
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Secure MICR Printer User’s Guide July 2003
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