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MICR or Magnetic Ink Character Recognition is the standard identification that is located at the bottom of a check for a bank to identify the source of the funds. This is printed in a special MICR font, and usually with a magnetic ink or toner as well.

MICR FORMAT/MICR.JPG

There are three main points of identification:

• The CHECK_NUMBER which is also printed higher on the face of the check in a more "human readable" form
• The BANK_TRANSIT_CODE which identifies which bank holds the funds to be paid
• The BANK_ACCOUNT which identifies the account within the bank from which the funds are taken

There are also four special characters which separate the data for the bank's automated systems:

• ON-US character MICR FORMAT/MICR-ONUS.JPG
• TRANSIT character MICR FORMAT/MICR-TRANSIT.JPG
• HYPHEN character MICR FORMAT/MICR-DASH.JPG

Although there is a standard for how the MICR format is to be printed, there are several variations on the standard. The format is controlled through a STORED PROCEDURE in the data base provided by High Line.

US Standards#

The format as shown above represents the standard format used through the United States banks, with some exceptions. The exceptions usually change the separation between the bank transit code and the bank account, although two formats do additional changes.

The formats are as follows:

Stored Procedure	Space between