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Although you can physically print checks with
“regular” toner instead
of
MICR
toner, there are several important
issues to consider before doing so.
-
Banks, clearing houses,
and other financial institutions read checks in one of two ways –
optically, or magnetically (and sometimes both ways). Some
people believe that because “their bank” reads checks
optically, they can therefore print
them with standard toner without repercussions.
The problem is,
there is no way to guarantee that every check is processed by the bank on
which it was drawn – in fact, there are usually several financial
institutions involved, and chances are, at least one of them is a
“magnetic-read-only” institution. This means that although your checks
may make it through the system some of the time, sooner or later they will
be slowed down because they have to be manually read, or in some cases,
the bank will simply return them as unreadable.
-
The industry standard
for printing checks calls for MICR toner, and for good reason: if someone
were to attempt to duplicate a check on a copier, the toner on the copy
would be “regular” toner, not MICR. Using MICR toner makes it much more
difficult to photocopy a check, and that much easier to spot a fraudulent
copy if one should be created.
-
Finally, there is the
issue of “Due Diligence”. Due Diligence simply means that you have done
your part to try to deter fraud. The industry standard for Due Diligence
is a minimum of 3 security features, with at least one being overt
(visible to the naked eye), one being covert (invisible to the
naked eye), one being anti-alteration (making it difficult to change the
information on the check), and one being anti-duplication (making it
difficult to photocopy). Businesses who do not exercise Due Diligence
leave themselves vulnerable to fraud, and, perhaps more importantly, pave
the way for the bank to place the responsibility on the business for the
lost funds. In short, if you don’t practice Due Diligence, the bank is
not likely to cover any losses that result from fraud, on the simple
grounds that you did not take sufficient measures to prevent it from
happening. Assuming you’ve taken the trouble to practice Due Diligence,
it really makes no sense to then print your checks with non-MICR (regular)
toner and leave yourself exposed in that way. If you’ve incorporated
ample security features into your checks and have printed them with MICR
toner, you stand a much better chance of being compensated by the bank
should any type of fraud take place.
So, the answer to the
question is this: No, you don’t HAVE to use MICR toner to print your laser
checks. HOWEVER, if you want them to be processed quickly, and if you want
to protect yourself from fraud, we highly recommend that you use MICR toner
to print your checks. |
