Bank Checks

The Features and Types of Bank Checks

A lot of people are scared of carrying a tempting amount of cash in their pockets or in their wallets because of the possibility of losing the money either by hold-ups or theft. This common fear of many people has been conveniently solved by the invention of bank checks. Bank checks go by a lot of other names which include cashier's check, teller's check, and treasurer's check. Bank checks are just little pieces of paper or mini-documents which serve as written orders of allowing the payment of a given amount of cash to a specific person or group of people. The basic information found in the surface of the bank checks include the name of the bank, the date of the check issuance, the name of the payee or cash recipient, the amount of money contained in the check, and the signature of the drawer.

The Characteristics of Basic Bank Checks

Security Features

Because of the growing problems in check alterations, most banks requested for some developments in the properties of bank checks for the sake of security issues. For added protection assurance and lessened counterfeit susceptibility, bank checks are now featured with bank company icons, special pictures, customized backgrounds, security threads, watermarks, microline printing, and color-shifting inks that are all contained in special check papers. The customized background of bank checks are usually in the form of light colors in order to present a neater and clearer area for the printed details. Words and numbers that are written in light-colored papers are better to read and easier to decipher. In addition to providing certain security measures, such features are also used to improve the appearance of the checks.

Payee's Name

With the exception of the bearer checks, bank checks feature a clear print of the payee's name. The payee's name must be written as neatly and as clearly as possible. This part of the checks is to be written with much care and caution because it is the most common source of complications. An excellent method of tampering of the payee's name may lead to serious consequences.

Bank checks may be further classified into four basic types. These types of bank checks are classified according to their distinct features, specific functions and different characteristics. The four basic types of bank checks are bearer checks, certified checks, crossed checks, and order checks.

The Four Basic Types of Bank Checks

Bearer Checks

Bearer checks, are types of bank checks which allows the bestowment of the money to the person who is in possession of the checks. These types of bank checks do not feature a specific information about the name of the payee because the amount contained in the checks is paid to the person who acts as the bearer. Even if bearer checks lack the payee's particulars, they are still different from blank checks. Blank checks, although they also lack the payee's particulars, are literally unwritten checks. They are the types of checks which are used by people who have no idea of the amount they have to write in.

Certified Checks

Certified checks, as the name suggests, are types of bank checks which are guaranteed to be good. These types of checks are often used for security deposits, down payments, tuition fees, subscription fees, tax payments, and monthly dues. With certified types of checks, the bank is given assurance that the funds available in the account are able to secure the amount written on the check. Because they are fixed and guaranteed, certified checks are therefore incapable of bouncing. The types of bank checks which are ignored and rejected by banks are called bounced checks. The presence of bounced checks are made possible by the insufficiency of available funds in a particular bank account.

Crossed Checks

Crossed checks are bank check types which are characterized by two parallel lines printed across the entire paper. The parallel lines serve as indicators that the value contained in the checks are to be directly deposited into a particular bank and not to be instantly cashed in. The crossed type of checks are very secured and highly protected.

Order Checks

Order checks are the types of bank checks which are payable only to the name of the payee indicated in the checks. These types of checks are the opposite of bearer checks. Order checks are usually used for monthly salaries, service charges, monetary gifts, and direct payments.