# what is a check (bank) really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 1, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982 "2003-09-01T16:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/1 "2003-09-01T16:38:07Z")
Hey folks, Need an answer to a burning question. I have to send a friend of mine a check for a few hundred dollars. Has to be a check. Couldn’t I scan it and send it to him digitally, he prints it out and goes to his bank to deposit it. Is this unheard of? Especially since he’s not going to cash it, but deposit it, and has the funds in his account to cover it. I recall hearing or reading once that checks were really just pieces of paper and not really official and that one could print a check or write one on anything. Or was that a last will and testament, Thanks, eric. ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/2 "2003-09-01T16:44:32Z")
Never heard of this - I suggest paypal though 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/3 "2003-09-01T16:53:41Z")
Doesn’t your bank allow you direct transfer from one account to another? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/4 "2003-09-01T16:55:09Z")
There’s no way you can legally e-mail a check. It would be mail fraud and forgery. Look at your check book, the paper has watermarks and a bunch of other stuff to stop you doing this. How are you going to print the back of the check? And do you think the bank is going to accept a check which doesn’t have your original signauture? If you need to send him money, then check, money order, or a wire service (paypal, Western Union etc) will do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/5 "2003-09-01T16:55:43Z")
nope. Has to be a check. Trying to avoid sending it through the post, that’s all. But it has to be a check. I was hoping to hear answers to my first query about whether it would be accepted, that’s what I need to know. thanks, eric ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/6 "2003-09-01T17:03:46Z")
It wouldn’t be accepted because it is not an original. Attempting to deposit it would be fraud. If you’re worried about security, send it via FedEx or UPS etc. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/7 "2003-09-01T17:07:41Z")
It’s just a check? What’s the worst if it gets lost? Put a stop payment on it if it goes astray. It is very easy to track a check through your bank now. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/8 "2003-09-01T17:14:32Z")
[Read this](http://www.goodthink.com/writing/view_stories.cfm?id=11&page_id=2) According to this guy a check can be written on pretty much anything. Fun story also. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/9 "2003-09-01T17:48:25Z")
There was a recent thread about printing checks. Yes, you can pretty much print a check on _anything_ but it _has_ to be signed by the account holder and a copy will not do. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/10 "2003-09-01T19:09:01Z")
“There was a recent thread about printing checks. Yes, you can pretty much print a check on _anything_ but it _has_ to be signed by the account holder and a copy will not do”. That’s my surmise. A check can be printed on anything, doesn’t have to be the fancy watermarked stuff. Byt I imagine you are corerct about there being an original signature. thanks, eric ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/11 "2003-09-01T19:27:27Z")
The Master speaks: [Can you write a check on any old piece of paper?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_352b.html) Please note that the answer was written a long time back and might not be relevant anymore. ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/12 "2003-09-01T22:14:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rick \* > \*\*[Read this](http://www.goodthink.com/writing/view_stories.cfm?id=11&page_id=2) > > According to this guy a check can be written on pretty much anything. Fun story also. \*\* Read it, really good tale:D ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/13 "2003-09-02T14:21:13Z")
Sorry, Tapioca, you missed this one. A check has to have the following to be negotiable: - a date - an amount - “pay to the order of” information - signature of person writing the check (signature can be in the form of a PIN for electronic checks). That’s it, no more is legally necessary. The nice preprinted checks that you get from your bank or check printer certainly help speed the clearing process and reduce errors but aren’t mandatory. In my years in banking I have seen a “check” written on a shirt and one written on a specimen cup (both written as alimony payments, BTW). There was a celebrated case of a check being written on a cow, but that was really a publicity stunt that the bank agreed to in advance. Copies of checks will work as well, so long as the signature is original. They’ll just gum up the bank’s MICR reading equipment and end up being handled manually. As to the OP, the signature is going to be your sticking point. I can think of no way to maintain an original signature on a traditional check transmitted electronically. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/14 "2003-09-02T16:40:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bardos \* > \*\*nope. Has to be a check. Trying to avoid sending it through the post, that’s all. But it has to be a check. > > thanks, eric \*\* All right, give us the scoop. Why does it HAVE to be a check? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/15 "2003-09-02T16:55:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doctor Jackson \* > \*\*As to the OP, the signature is going to be your sticking point. I can think of no way to maintain an original signature on a traditional check transmitted electronically. \*\* I don’t know – my Quicken/BankOne online bill pay still pays some backwards companies using a laser draft check. There’s no signature at all. Instead it says: > [@](#): > > SIGNATURE NOT REQUIRED > This check has been authorized by your payer. The routing number and account number are mine, and for all intents and purposes it’s a check that I wrote out of my own checkbook. ---
**Author:** ![aeropl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@aeropl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aeropl)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/16 "2003-09-02T17:11:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\* but it _has_ to be signed by the account holder and a copy will not do. \*\* What about the checks I get for my stock dividends, or just about anything from a corporation? There’s not an actual signature on the check, just an electronic reproduction. That’s basically a copy. I think the OP could get away with it, but I would just ask the recipient to call the bank and ask beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/17 "2003-09-02T18:16:35Z")
Those checks you get from corporations are still essentially “original documents” because the company must account for issuing them - it can’t just print them off willy nilly and get away with it. There have been auditing procedures in place for years to cover use of mechanical and electronic facsimile equipment like the following: [http://www.absservices.com/check\_protection\_and\_check\_signing.htm](http://www.absservices.com/check_protection_and_check_signing.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/18 "2003-09-02T20:31:56Z")
Facsimile signatures for companies are accepted but the company first signs an agreement with the bank authorizing the use of facsimile signatures (and generally submits a sample of the signature) prior to issuing any checks. **Balthisar** - I’d be willing to bet that you, somewhere in your online banking agreement, authorized your bank to issue unsigned drafts on your behalf. Check out the small print, it’s in there somewhere. In a nutshell, exceptions are made to the original signature requirements, but they must be agreed to in writing prior to issuing checks. That’s the rub for **bardos**. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-check-bank-really/198982/19 "2003-09-02T21:14:16Z")
If you have neither a bank name or a bank account number on the check, how does the bank know from what account to draw the money?