What Is a Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) L🐼i𓄧ne?

Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) is a technology used primarily to identify and process checks. The MICR on a check is the string of characters that appears at the bottom left. It consists of three groups of numbers, including the bank routing number, the customer's checking account number, and the check number.

The MICR includes, from left, a nine-charact🦄🐷er routing number, a 12-character account number, and a four-character check number.

It is called a magnꦆetic ink character recognition line in reference to the print technology that enables a machine to read, process, and record information.

H♏ow the Magnetic Ink Characteওr Recognition (MICR) Line Works

The magnetic ink character recognition line lets a computer rapidly read and record numbers or other information from printed documents, such as a personal check. In this case, that information is a check number, routing number, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:account number.

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:American Bankers Association (ABA) developed the system in the late 1950s, and the American National Standards Institute later recognized it as an industry standard.

The MICR number, which is sometimes confused with just the account number, is pr🎉inted on the check using magnetic ink or toner, less than an inch above the bottom of the document. The magnetic ink allows a computꦫer to read the characters even if they have been covered with signatures, cancellation marks, bank stamps, or other marks.

MICR lines help facilitate automatic check-clearing when banks send their checks to central processing systems at the end of th🧜e day. They are designed to be easily read by people as well, so that check information can be communicated easily.

The numbers are usually printed in one of two specially designed fonts, E-13 B or CMC-7. Both are used worldwide, with the E-13B used primarily in North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The CMC-7 font is mainly used in Europe and parts of South America.

MICR Check Scanner

Every check sent is processed by a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:clearinghouse, bank, or both. They validate the check and finalize the transaction♍, deducting ꧋the correct amount from one account and crediting it to another. A single check may be processed several times at different banks and Federal Reserve Centers.

Part of that process is reading the identifying information on the check. The MICR line mechanized that process. A scanner, or reader-sorter computerized machine, processes the information magnetically printe🍒d on the checks, including 🅠the routing number, account number, and check number.

During the clearing process, a check may be read several times at extremely high speeds. According to Troy Group, a producer of MICR-adapted printers and related products, a single reading takes less than 1/1000ths of a second.

Special Considerations

While magnetic ink character recognition was first𝐆 used to print information on checks, the technology has been adapted t𝔉o other applications.

A variety of financial documents in the United States are encoded with MICR technology. Credit card invoices, direct mail, coupons used for rebates, and negotiable orders of withdrawal (NOWs) may also use the technology.

Benefits of the MICR Line 

One of the benefits of the magnetic ink character recognition line is its ability to facilitate the use of a routing number to process checks and deduct the payment amounts. A routing number or routing📖 transit number isꦚ a nine-digit numerical code that banking and other financial institutions use to clear funds and process checks.

The routing number identifies the bank branch that holds the account from which funds are to be drawn. Wire transfers and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:direct deposits often rely on routing numbers as well.

Detecting Fraud

Combating fraud is a constant battle in the financial services industry. The definition of fraud is an intentionally deceptive action that is designed to provide the perpetrator with an unlawful gain. A range of fraud types exists, including 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:tax fraud, credit card fraud, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:wire fraud, securities fraud, and bankruptcy fraud.

The magnetic ink character recognition line makes some forms of financial fraud hard𓄧er by using tamper-proof magnetic ink and unique f♏onts. Thus, MICR makes it difficult to alter checks.

Check altering generally entails changing the payee's name, the amount of the check, or both. Section 3-407 of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a set of business laws regulating financial contracts, breaks down the term alteration even further, with nine articles dealing with separate aspects of banking and loans.

For instance, a fraudster may attempt to ca🍸sh a photocopied check through a teller at a bank branch. The♏ photocopied MICR line immediately alerts the teller that the check is fake.

Since MICR technology helps detect and prevent fraud, banks and other financial institutions use it tဣo minimize losses.

The Bottom Line

Magnetic ink character recognition is still around some 70 years after it wಌꦍas developed because it solved two big problems faced by banks: The processing of checks had to be mechanized, and fraud had to be made more difficult.

Its three components, including a 💎routing number, an account number, and a check number, together crea🌺te a unique identifier for a check and the person who signed it. Just as importantly, it is printed using special ink and custom fonts that make fakes difficult, if not impossible, to create.