Are Your Checks in Compliance?
The 9 Most Common Check Design Errors

ANSI standards.  Security considerations.  Check Payment Systems Association requirements. Positive Pay and Payee Positive Pay specifications.   Designing a check that meets industry and regulatory requirements as well as corporate branding and processing requirements is no small challenge. And recent Check 21 legislation only has added to the complexity. 

Imaged Documents Pose New Challenges
Though no additional check design standards were mandated as a result of Check 21, legibility has become more important than ever. Original checks now may be truncated and imaged to create negotiable instruments, called substitute checks or image replacement documents (IRDs).  So financial institutions and their customers need to take a long, hard look at background reflectance, clutter and contrast where vital check data is located to assure readability of the images and the resulting IRDs.  

What’s more, as banking institutions have begun imaging checks, they have also become concerned with the file size of these imaged documents. Many are setting file size limits to minimize storage requirements and their related expenses.

How would your checks fare in a critical examination?  Are they legible, compliant and designed for trouble-free processing?   Now is the time to revisit what you’re doing.  For the bank of first deposit, it’s an issue of processing productivity, cost and meeting Regulation CC requirements that govern the availability of funds and returned checks.  For commercial customers, it is a matter of avoiding unnecessary bank charges.

Melissa Barnes, project engineer on Standard Register’s Materials Testing & Quality Control team and member of the American National Standards Institute committee (formerly ANSI, now ASC X9B) that establishes check standards for the financial services industry, offers this list of common check design errors to help you evaluate your own check program:

1. Convenience Amount Recognition (CAR) Infractions The CAR field where the numerical amount of the check is printed is a common problem area. The numbers must appear within the specified scan area and for the sake of legibility:
• Secure number fonts may not be used in the CAR
• No screens or tints may be used behind the CAR
• No box may be placed around the CAR unless the print contrast (PCS ) is less than 0.30

2. Void Pantographs   Important to deterring check counterfeiting, the word “void” appears when the check is scanned or imaged. Currently, Standard Register’s CopyBan Capture® design is the only void pantograph that meets ANSI specs, CAR requirements and has a low file size.

3. Reversed Warning Bands and Solid Borders   While warning bands are not required, they provide the acceptor with important tools to identify fraudulent checks. To minimize file size and optimize legibility, however, warning bands should be screened and use solid text. Solid borders around the check are not necessary and only add to the file size.

4. Printing on the Back of the Check   This area is a common source of problems.  All printing must meet the contrast levels (PCS) required by ANSI:
• Laidlines must be PCS of 0.18  or less
• Text in Transit Endorsement Area must be PCS of 0.30 or less
•  Print in Bank of First Deposit area must be PCS of 0.18 or less

5. Padlock Icon Specifications The padlock icon is a registered certification mark of the Check Payment Systems Association (CPSA) which indicates that a minimum of three security features have been incorporated to the check. Though not required on the check, it must follow ANSI specifications if it is used:
• Print on both front on both front and back
• On the front, place in the scan zone
• On the back,  place in the Warning Box in the Transit Endorsement Area

Be sure to use the positive image of the padlock icon; the reverse image of the padlock icon is no longer allowed.

6. Padlock Verbiage If using the Padlock icon, the following information must appear in the CPSA Warning Box:
• The correct security features
• ® Padlock design is a certification mark of the Check Payment Systems Association

7. Large and/or Reversed Logos and Text   To minimize file size of image documents, avoid using large, thick or reversed corporate logos and text.

8. Solid Lines to Separate Data   Do not use solid lines to separate data.  They add to the image file size.

9. MICR Clear Band Interference   Remove all patterns and warning bands from the 5/8-inch MICR clear band.

A Dynamic Environment
Check standards are dynamic, always changing to keep up with technology and legislation inside and outside the US.  In fact, Canada recently established its own standards for check stock.  So companies wanting to conduct business with Canadian firms will need to examine their current check program.

Ms. Barnes recommends that before companies place a re-order for checks, they have their check designs reviewed to ensure they are in step with changing requirements. 

For further information about check design and other compliance issues, contact Standard Register. Our document security professionals can work with you in designing documents to meet global industry and regulatory requirements and help mitigate your risks.