MICR Toner


MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) toner is not legally required to produce a valid check. However, the U.S. banking system uses special equipment for reading and sorting check documents that require certain magnetic properties to properly process a check. If you do not use the special MICR toner in your printer, it is possible that the banks will have to add a special additional strip on the bottom of the check which they would manually encode with MICR characters. This costs the bank extra time and thus extra expense. The bank may charge you and or your customer for this extra expense of processing the checks. In some instances banks have returned such checks unpaid because they were not encoded with MICR toner. If you use special MICR toner offered for sale by CHAX, Inc., (1-800-354-MICR) you will insure your CHAX checks meet the American Bank Association standards (ANSI X9.27 standard) and thus can be processed by the banks without any additional intervention.


Data File Backup


It is always good practice to regularly backup all the important files on your disks or network drive, since you may be saving check batch data for later printing and/or databases of payers and payees, a loss of data could cause considerable inconvenience. We strongly recommend that you review your backup procedures to make sure that the CHAX® files are backed up sufficiently to meet your needs.


Encouraging Customer Use of CHAX


Some of your customers may have questions about the use of CHAX. We suggest that you explain the benefits of using CHAX to send the funds. Use the following explanations as appropriate for an individual situation:

  • CHAX checks are safer than regular checks. When you send a CHAX® check you are providing no more information than if you mailed the check. Checks can be intercepted or lost in the mail. CHAX® are sent by fax and thus you have positive, instant confirmation of their receipt. CHAX® checks look different from regular checks and so cannot be easily cashed but must be deposited into a bank account, leaving an audit trail.
  • You control your money. You control the float. You can send the CHAX® checks on the day you wish to release the funds. You no longer have to build in extra time to cover delays.
  • You can eliminate the need to use expensive overnight delivery service when you have to get a check delivered in a hurry.
  • If you have merchandise on hold for receipt of funds, you can have it shipped the same day.
  • You can avoid COD charges and the problems of having to leave the check ready and waiting for the trucker.
  • Using CHAX checks instead of credit cards will not tie up your credit card's available credit and will avoid the hassles of getting reimbursed for business purchases.
  • Keep your accounting simple. CHAX checks are generated by you just like regular checks (you create a regular check, fax it, and retain the original for your records). If you use CHAX instead of your credit card, you won't have to analyze and allocate your credit card account statement for tax and audit.


Sample Draft Check Authorization Request


Here is a sample draft check authorization request that you may copy for your purposes. You will need to replace enter your actual company name to be valid.


sample_check_draft_authorization_request.doc