Talk:Cheque

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[edit] how checks are processed

since i actually work in a bank processing checks, i thought i could write up some stuff about how it is actually done.

then i remembered the last 5 to 10 times i tried to add information to wikipedia, and some jerkoff moderater decided my additions were either not 'worthy of an encyclopedia' (meanwhile i notice you have several articles on fictional characters) , or was not neutral (anything controversial, like, you know, facts), and deleted my work.

so, why should i even bother?

do you really care there are numerous types of machines that open mail, sort checks, scan checks into digital form? the part the data entry operators play in fixing OCR errors? the various manufacturers of this equipment? the various computer systems used?

no. youre an encyclopedia. what you are concerned with is enumerating the characters of cartoon shows and listing the family tree of fictional characters.

who cares about how your phone bill gets payed. or used to get payed. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.185.250.195 (talk) 07:09 UTC, 7 October 2006.

[edit] (moved from Talk:Check)

The stuff about order checks doesn't make sense to me. My understanding is that a 'bearer cheque' is one explicitly made out to 'bearer' or 'cash', and which can therefore be exchanged by anyone who has posession of it. A cheque made out to a specific person can be exchanged for cash only by the person it is made out to. Whoever cashes it can of course be more or less vigilant in demanding proof of identity. A 'crossed cheque' can only be paid into a bank account of the payee. In Britain at least most cheques are 'crossed' at the time of printing.

Anyone have any more details, and whether other European countries work differently? DJ Clayworth 22:47, 4 Feb 2004 (UTC)

The US is about make a total cockup of chequing. 142.177.24.144 04:59, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

[edit] No need for ()

We don't need the (finance) if we just spell "cheque" correctly. Chamaeleon 12:43, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I agree. Maybe someone should do a cut and paste move and mark this for Wikipedia:Speedy deletions. We will need an admin to copy the history though. —UTSRelativity 02:32, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Page move

As pointed out above, moving to Cheque meand there is no need for additional disambiguation. Jooler 12:46, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)

  • Support, though I do have BE bias. violet/riga (t) 18:13, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)
  • Support. I admit a BE bias, too, but "cheque" is also used in the US (at least by AmEx), apparently, and alternative-word-spelling-disambiguation, when widely understandable, is greatly prefereable to paranthetic disambiguation. James F. (talk) 01:46, 2 May 2005 (UTC)
  • Support. My reply is belated, but I'm posting to provide an American perspective. While relatively uncommon in the US, the "cheque" spelling is fairly familiar to Americans and far less ambiguous than "check." —Lifeisunfair 10:13, 8 June 2005 (UTC)

This article has been renamed as the result of a move request. violet/riga (t) 10:24, 2 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Spelling consistency

This article currently has a dizzying mishmash of spellings, in some cases using both "check" and "cheque" in the same paragraph (if not the same sentence). This looks very ragged and should be fixed. Most of the text describes US usage, so those grafs at least should probably spell it consistently as "check". 18.26.0.18 02:20, 5 May 2005 (UTC)

I've fixed it to match the title. violet/riga (t) 12:18, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)

It's cheque btw, not check. 202.191.106.29 16:44, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

It's Check btw, not cheque.

Shut the fuck up, both of you. They are both correct in their respective regions.Cameron Nedland 03:58, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Problem created by the spelling change.

It seems ridiculous that parts of this article say flatly untrue things such as "cheque has, in the US, come to mean any of these items." There's got to be a better way to put that. Twin Bird 13:40, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Spelling history

I have added a paragraph that explains the history of 'check' vs 'cheque'.

Atyphoon 01:35, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

This history, presumably as provided by the text cited, disagrees completely with the word's usage history as provided by the OED2. Most importantly, the history here suggests that the spelling 'cheque' was invented in 1828, while the OED2 finds extensive usage of 'cheque' and 'checque' throughout the 1700s. I am compelled to assume that the etymology provided is fallacious and that the OED is not simply making up usage including
1708 Act 7 Anne c. 7 Such part of the said Cheques, Indents, or Counterfoils as shall relate to the Bills...
or
1717 Minutes of Court of Bank of Eng. 24 Oct., Ordered..that Mr. Woolhead desire all persons who keep accounts by Drawn Notes to use cheques, who do not at present.
As I consider the OED to be the obvious authority in this area (that is, English etymology) and as its content contradicts the present article, I'm going to pursue some revision to eliminate this disagreement. --Yst 13:44, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Islamic Empire 1 century CE?

Um, Mohammed was born only in the 6th century CE. This needs to be corrected.

[edit] American version?

Should an article about American checks be created? Or at least have some redirect so as to avoid spelling confusion? Also, I'd like to see articles about bounced checks, protesting a check, etc.--D-Day 17:25, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

No. Just learn to live the the confusion, like we do when we read about pavement, sidewalk, cilantro, zucchini and a million and one other things. Jooler
I don't think a separate article is warranted, but an entire section devoted to cheques in the US banking system would be very useful. This may result in a disproportionate percentage of the article being about the US, but given that the US is one of the few developed countries still using cheques (instead of more modern payment methods such as bank-to-bank transfers), I don't think this would make the article unjustly US-centric. There are plenty of useful things to say about cheques in the US, for example the fact that an online banking payment typically results in a cheque being sent in the mail, the fact that account holders may choose a third party to print their cheques, and why account holders like to get back their cancelled cheques. Facts such as these and others may seem obvious to Americans, but are very surprising to outsiders, and are therefore worth explaining in this article. Nfh 19:00, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

My understanding is that banks in the US recently (2004?) stopped sending back cancelled cheques. I've been told that (for legal reasons) they still photograph those checks and keep microfiche copies for several years, but then original checks are shredded. See [1], [2], Check 21 Act.

[edit] Writing a Cheque/Check

Why is there no area that explains the full use of a check and how to write one? I heard a check can be used as a deposit slip, though I forget how this process is done. Davethewave83

It's a good idea to endorse your checks "Pay to the order of BANK, for deposit only, account #NUMBER, NAME, where BANK, NUMBER and NAME are your Bank's name, your account number, and your name (duh). With that endorsement, nobody but BANK can do anything with the check, and BANK can only deposit it in your account.

A little off topic, Something I liked to do when my landlord pretended she didn't get paid on time was to write the checks payable to the order of "The Extortionist Witch" or something a little more obscene.

An interesting case (Ok, almost completely off topic) I heard about was when a guy deposited one of the "This Money Could Be Yours" supposedly fake checks that come with advertisements. Apparantly, these clowns copied one of their actual checks and simply wrote "Void" on the face of the check. The guy checked his account balance a couple days later, and had quite a large sum available, and a company threatening to sue him. Rival 07:06, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I agree, a little more information on "writing a check" and "endorsing a check". I've been getting conflicting advice on whether I should always use a black ink pen, or always use a colored pen. Also conflicting advice on whether I should always use a (oil-based ink) ballpoint pen, or a (water-based ink) rollerball/gel pen, or a (?) fountain pen. Since my checks make carbon copyes as I write them, I'm not too worried. (But of course I'm not going to use pencil or eraseable ink). --70.189.75.148 07:09, 9 February 2006 (UTC)


I agree that some 'how to fill out a cheque' info would be good, eg. how to avoid fraud by making sure you write the cheque so no one can add extra numbers. Also some more info about crossing cheques would be good. As mentioned above, cheques in England come precrossed, I assume this is/are the two vertical lines printed across the 'pay' and 'the sum of' lines. However, as this is taken for granted English people may not know about this at all and get caught out if they go to America. (Cynthia Voigt wrote a story where a characther started her own business and failed to cross a cheque for a huge order. The resulting theft meant that she lost her busines).

Hmmm, I'm not so sure that this type of information should be included in a Wikipedia article. See point 4 ("Instruction manuals") in WP:NOT#IINFO. Adw2000 15:07, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Also, as I understand it, the cheque books printed by banks are simply for your convenience and if you write out a 'pay the bearer' note on a napkin, that is legally binding and a bank would have to process it. Hmm but I can't imagine the bank WOULD process it. Any more info on this? ChristineD 18:31, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What happens if a check bounces?

Also, what happens if a check made out to "bearer" or "cash" bounces? Who's fault is it and who gets the blame? ;) Davethewave83

The last person to endorse the check is the first person responsible, but ultimately the original maker is responsible for payment of the check. If: Able cuts Baker a check in exchange for a lawn sprinkler. Baker signs the check over to Charles, in exchange for a hamburger. Charles signs the check over to Diane for a large order of fries, and diane finally deposits it in the bank. When the check bounces, Diane has to go back to Charles to get payment for the large fries, Charles has to go back to Baker to get payment for the hamburger, and Baker has to go back to Able to get payment for the lawn sprinkler.

Of course, Baker and Charles could have endorsed the check "No Recourse, Baker" and "No Recourse, Charles" when they signed it over, in which case Diane would have to go all the way back to Able directly for her payment.

Rival 07:06, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] reference for Finland

Didn't know where to put a reference in Finnish to back up Finnish info, so i'll put it here: http://www.turunsanomat.fi/kotimaa/?ts=1,3:1002:0:0,4:2:0:1:2004-01-07,104:2:196120,1:0:0:0:0:0: --Espoo 13:48, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Checks the size of beach towels

What about those really big checks? Can you actually get/deposit those? Presumably it's a US thing.

There's a well known historic case of somebody in the UK writing a cheque on the side of a live cow. NFH 21:29, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cheque v. Check

If most of the information in this article is related to the United States, then why is the title of this article British English. I think someone should change the title to the American version, or at least add more British stuff. → JARED (t)  13:29, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

The original title was Check (finance). The page was moved to Cheque to eliminate the need for parenthetical disambiguation. ("Check" can refer to numerous things, but "cheque" refers strictly to the article's subject.)
Indeed, additional information pertaining to other countries would be welcome. —David Levy 13:35, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sources?

"When sending a payment by online banking in the United States, the sending bank usually mails a cheque to the payee's bank rather than sending the funds electronically." If that's true, I'd like to see some supporting reference. I've used online banking in the US at various institutions since the 1980s, and this runs contrary to my experience. It also makes little sense, since it is cheaper for both parties to make the exchange electronically.

"Despite being one of the world's most developed countries, the United States still relies heavily on cheques, caused by the absence of a high volume system for low value electronic payments." Since every credit card company, utility, mortgage grantor, and even local homeowner association I've dealt with in the past decade has something in place to allow automated electronic transfer of regular payments, whether the amount be small or large, I'd like to know the basis of this claim. Even American Express, which was among the last to offer such services, now allows its cardholders to pay bills online electronically, or by signing up for an automatic direct debit. Even over a decade ago, almost all of these institutions that I deal with have had such capability, so I can't see the basis for the claim that there is an absence of such a system. It's possible that this practice is used less than common sense would dictate, but that certainly does not mean that there is nothing in place to allow it. --Hagrinas 16:16, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cheque expirations

When is the last day a British cheque can be cashed after being written?

The article says "a cheque is generally valid for six months after the date of issue". I think this covers the UK. Adw2000 15:11, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Date on example British Cheque

The date on the example Canadian Cheque is 1 August 2006. I presume the British Cheque was meant to have the same date as an example? However, the date on the cheque is written "08/01/06", which in British format is 8 January 2006. Can the example be updated so that it reads "01/08/06" or "1 August 2006" (my preferred date format when writing cheques)? Adw2000 14:59, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

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