Have you ever heard of banks not cashing checks written in red ink?

i have heard of something like this before.
something to do with ink other than the black and blue you are supposed to use can be forged more easily.

It may also have something to do with how they scan and save the checks. If it won’t scan well enough for their records they may not accept it.

I looked around a bit. Sounds like there are some banks that do this. Others not. It might be a per-branch issue. So, try a different location.

Red ink photocopies just as well as anything else.

Can’t find a consistent, logical rationale. It’s one of those things that snopes.com should post an article about.

I’ve always been told it has to be in black or blue. I’ve had to sign checks at the grocery store and they hand me green pens, if it’s all I have then I use it. I don’t think banks should be particular on that sort of thing. But, sorry, I don’t know the official rule.
Did she try to cash it already? Did the bank tell her this information?

It just seems odd. I’ve cashed checks written in colors other than black and blue before. I guess i’ll just have to write her another check! :P

@casheroo – Yeah, she just tried to cash it at her bank (i’m not sure which bank she uses) and they informed her that they can’t accept it because it is written in red ink. She also found this to be pretty odd!

For what it’s worth (and, admittedly, it might be absolutely NOTHING), I used to work in a place where time sheets could NOT be filled in with red ink, because the scanners they used to read it would not read red ink. Maybe it’s related to that.

AND, in the hospital’s I’ve worked in, the patient’s medical record had to be written in blue or black ink, in case it had to be copied for legal purposes.

From Money Central on MSN

“It doesn’t help that rooted in many myths is the tiniest grain of reality, she adds. The trick is extracting that truth. Check out this collection of legends:

* Myth No. 1: You can float a check longer if you write in red ink. The theory is that a bank’s equipment can’t scan red ink, so it takes longer to process the check.

Poppycock, says Williams. The color of the ink makes no difference.

“However, gel ink doesn’t image well, which makes it difficult to verify the signature and the check,” says Tracey Mills, of the American Bankers Association. “As a result, the paying bank cannot authorize the transaction, and chances are the check will be returned to the creditor or merchant.”

Then, instead of getting some extra time on the float, you are socked with a returned-check fee.”

@Marina – Well i’m glad she found out and I don’t have to pay a returned-check fee, or else I would be absolutely furious.

@Marina GA!

On a side note I went to cash checks last month and two were denied as expired. 90 days and the bank (or at least MY BANK) will not cash them.

It explicitly states on my chequebook to write using black or blue pen. I presume this has to do with the color red not appearing well when the cheque is automatically scanned and processed through the bank’s system. Obviously there is technology to fix this problem, but I guess some banks still do things the old way or with older equipment.

@dynamicduo then once they upgrade the technology to read red, people will start using yellow.

These days when you make a deposit at an ATM the scanner “reads” the check and asks you to verify it. A few weeks ago I deposited a check with poor handwriting and the ATM said it couldn’t verify the amount so the funds would not be immediately available. It didn’t matter to me because I wasn’t withdrawing that money, When you deposit inside the bank, they run it through machines and maybe that’s where the problem arose. The teller might have said the scan was illegible (scanners don’t always have copier quality) so the funds will not be available for X number of days. Or the bank may not accept scanner illegible instruments.

Banks have always been able to reject some forms of payment. I have heard of checks written on non-standard material, checks with obscene remarks written on them, checks written in pencil and the ever popular mortgage payment in coins. The bank can set any reasonable standard and the branch manager can make an interpretation.

@galileogirl – Mortgage payment IN COINS?! Wow, that’s just a tad ridiculous! Hahahaha.

From @Marina‘s quip:

“However, gel ink doesn’t image well, which makes it difficult to verify the signature and the check,” says Tracey Mills, of the American Bankers Association.

—

What’s wrong with gel ink? After it’s dried, who can even tell the difference upon casual observation? Where’s the grain of reality that that myth is based on?

If its not in blue or black ink its not cpnsidered a legal document

@robmandu Apparently, it is how the scanner machines are calibrated. Here is an instance in which it messed up an election:

” The problem occurred with optical scan machines manufactured by Sequoia Voting Systems, which failed to record voters’ marks off of paper ballots. The county used the company’s Optech system for processing paper absentee ballots.

Specifically, the machine was calibrated to detect carbon-based ink, but not dye-based ink commonly used in gel pens, Charles said. Prior to the election, a Sequoia technician ran test ballots through the machine to calibrate its reading sensitivity, but failed to test for gel ink.”

Huh… that’s interesting.

Now, for scanners like those used for ballots, or what we in school lovingly called scamtron, I can see where those have specific ink/graphite requirement in order to read the answers correctly.

But a check is not a regular grid with fill-in-the-bubbles. I would normally think that would either require a necessarily more complex OCR capability (if that’s what it’s doing) – or – just regular old copier technology. In short, if the Post Office can scan thousands of hand-written addresses a minute, I’d like to think check scanning technology would easily be on par, if not better to help prevent forgery.

—

Oh well… so… we can use what?
– ballpoint pens
– rollerball pens
– fountain pens
– ink ball pens
– fine-point felt tip pens

…but not?
– highlighter pens
– pencils
– gel-ink pens
– blood
– red- or any other vanity-colored ink pens
– etc.

@Krystal
Yes. Often it’s only blue or black and no other colors. Always use black if in doubt.

@Dog Not cashing a check > 90 days old is the standard, but not the rule….I recently had a check that I had written cashed after almost a year. What a pain to reconcile my checkbook each month

My roommate tried to pay her half of our deposit with a check written in pink ink, and they wouldn’t take that either.

Personally, when I was a kid, my grandma taught me how to write a check, and she said to always use black or dark blue, so that’s what I’ve always done.

I usually write my checks in blue or black ink, but it was the only thing I had besides a pencil, so I figured it would have been okay. I ended up just writing her another check. I guess I learned my lesson.

You live and learn. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Do them online and then you don’t need paper.

@dog – it may depend on your state law as to how old the check can be for it to be considered negotiable. In Ohio it’s 6 months unless the check states otherwise on the face of that check.

@robmandu – Check scanning technology does vary from bank to bank. However, as the Federal Reserve is changing how they will accept items for processing, banks are having to upgrade their systems.

@galileogirl – I really want to see one of these new ATM’s. They look so cool!

I work for a bank in the check processing department. My bank does currently take checks written in any ink. Many red pens, gel pens of multiple colors and fine tipped blue pens do not image well. We receive images that look completely blank. These physical documents then have to be sent for processing instead of the image. This increases the cost of processing, the chance for fraud and the time for processing. That is probably why the bank refused to take the item. I would imagine the larger banks decided it was too great of a cost and risk.The blank image you receive of your check will also make it difficult to prove to someone that you paid them.

The following are responses to frequently asked questions about the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21 Act). These responses are based on the changes to the Federal Reserve Board’s (FRB) Regulation CC and intended to be a resource for financial institutions, rather than official legal interpretation.

Answers to consumer questions can be found at the FRB’s Web site, www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/truncation/faqs.htm.

1.What is a “substitute check” (also commonly referred to as an image replacement document (IRD))?

Response: Section 3 (16) of the Check 21 Act defines a “substitute check” as a paper reproduction of the original check that:
Contains an image of the front and back of the original check;
Bears a Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) line containing all the information appearing on the MICR line of the original check, except as provided under generally applicable industry standards for substitute checks to facilitate the processing of substitute checks;
Contains a legend stating that it is a legal equivalent of the original check;
Conforms, in paper stock, dimension and otherwise, with generally applicable industry standards for substitute checks; and
Is suitable for automated processing in the same manner as the original check.

Upon the Act’s effective date of October 28, 2004, a substitute check that meets these specific requirements will be considered the legal equivalent of the original check it is replacing.

2.What happens when there is a conflict between state law and the Check 21 statute? Massachusetts, for example, prohibits check truncation.

Response: Section 13 of the Check 21 Act provides that the Act shall supersede any provision of federal or state law, including the Uniform Commercial Code, which is inconsistent with this Act, but only to the extent of the inconsistency. State laws such as those prohibiting check truncation will become void and unenforceable beginning on the Act’s effective date of October 28, 2004.

3.Does the color of ink on the original document affect the legality of the original check?

Response: No. The only reference to ink color appears in Appendix D of the FRB’s Regulation CC. Appendix D currently requires depositary bank endorsements to be printed in dark purple or black ink, and requires all other endorsements to be printed in an ink color other than purple. However, the FRB believes that it is important for all endorsements to be printed in dark ink so that they can be easily read and imaged. The FRB also believes that all endorsements that a reconverting bank prints onto a substitute check at the time that the substitute check is created will be printed in a single ink color, likely black. The FRB, therefore, proposes to require all endorsements, including the depositary bank endorsement, to be printed in black ink. For additional information, refer to the FRB’s Web site at: www.federalreserve.gov/BoardDocs/Press/Bcreg/2003/20031222/attachment.pdf.

4.Some banks have reported that they have been receiving IRDs for at least one month and have asked why they are receiving IRDs now rather than after October 28, 2004 – the effective date of the act?

Response: Some banks are already implementing the provisions of the Check 21 Act as a reconverting bank. However, a bank that is receiving IRDs needs to check with its state’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to determine whether it should accept IRDs prior to October 28, 2004, or if state law prohibits check truncation or the acceptance of anything other than the original item.

5.What specific actions should banks be taking now to prepare for the implementation of Check 21?

Response: The management of all financial institutions should become familiar with the Check 21 Act, and determine whether the bank will become a reconverting bank by creating substitute checks. Whether the bank becomes a reconverting bank or simply accepts and processes substitute checks created by other banks, significant resources need to be dedicated to training staff on the following topics:
Recognizing and accepting substitute checks, including fraud detection methods;
Processing options;
Expedited recrediting procedures under the Check 21 Act; and
Anticipating and addressing customer service needs.

The FRB’s revisions to section 229.51 and commentary provide information on the responsibilities and duties of a reconverting bank. In addition, FIL-54–2004 issued by the FDIC on May 21, 2004, provides helpful guidance to FDIC-supervised institutions about the necessity to begin planning for operational changes needed to implement the new law. The FIL also highlights the responsibilities of the reconverting bank (i.e., the bank that creates a substitute check or transfers a substitute check to another party).