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Source Technologies, LLC ST9650 Secure MICR Printer User’s Guide
23
Data Elements
Date
The date is a required data element for a check. It represents the day upon which
or after which the transfer of the check amount may take place. The date 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 data 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. Please refer to 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, OCR-B, are also acceptable fonts to print the
convenience amount.
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 forty-four and 62/100---------------DOLLARS
MICR Check Design | 3