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.
There are also special characters which separate the data for the bank's automated systems:
MICR FORMAT/MICR-ONUS.JPG
ON-US character
MICR FORMAT/MICR-TRANSIT.JPG
TRANSIT character
MICR FORMAT/MICR-DASH.JPG
HYPHEN character
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.
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.- Check Number
- The check number is printed as shown on IPDS for each check
- Bank Transit Code
- This nine-digit field is taken straight from the BANK_TRANSIT_CODE field on the IPBL screen.
- Bank Account Number
- This is the payroll account for the company, from which funds are drawn, and is printed as stored (with hyphens as stored)
The formats are as follows: Wiki : MICR FORMAT - Plugin insertion failed: Could not find plugin TableWiki : MICR FORMAT - Plugin insertion failed: Could not find plugin Table
Canada Standards#
Canadian banks format the MICR line differently. The most noticeable difference is that the Bank Transit Code is only eight characters long, comprised of a three digit bank number and a 5 digit "transit" or branch number.- Check Number
- The check number is printed as shown on IPDS for each check
- Bank Transit Code
- This eight digit field is taken straight from the BANK_TRANSIT_CODE field on the IPBL screen.
- Bank Account Number
- This is the payroll account for the company, from which funds are drawn, and should be stored without hyphens, as this will be formatted by the MICR procedure (unless noted otherwise, below)
The formats are as follows: Examples assume that the Bank Transit on IBPL is 12345678 and the Bank Account on IPBA is 1234567890. Unless otherwise indicated, there is one space between the bank transit code and the bank account. Wiki : MICR FORMAT - Plugin insertion failed: Could not find plugin TableWiki : MICR FORMAT - Plugin insertion failed: Could not find plugin Table
