Set up my printer
If you have a page-oriented printer, you can assume that you should insert checks in the paper tray or envelope feeder the same way that you would insert standard letterhead paper.
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Check 21 is a federal law enacted in 2004 to help banks handle more checks electronically. Because check scanners may reject checks that use an incompatible font style or size in the numeric dollar amount field, you can print only checks from Quicken that use Arial (font), Regular (font style), 10 pt (font size) in this field. The font style and size of all other typed fields don't interfere with the Check 21 restrictions, so you again have the flexibility to change this information in Quicken.
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Tell me more about Check 21
The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (better known as Check 21) was established in 2004 to modernize the U.S. payments system by streamlining the way your checks are processed. The main objective of Check 21 is to speed up check-clearing time and eliminate the costs and risks of physically transporting checks. Check 21 allows financial institutions to create and present a substitute check for payment in place of the original check. This new substitute check is an electronic copy of the front and back of your original check, can be easily printed for you at any time, and provides the legal equivalent of your original check.
Check 21 changes you may notice:
- Time between writing a check and when it's cashed generally decreases.
- Many financial institutions may no longer retain and return your original checks. However, substitute checks are always available in printed format for you from your financial institution.
- Your financial institution may contact you about fees for checks that are not Check 21 compatible.
- Text for the check dollar amount is preset by Quicken to Arial 10 point font, and can't be changed. (You still have the option to use other fonts for all other text on your printed check.)
- Text fonts printed on your checks can't be in color.
- There are additional impacts for Check 21 wallet checks.
As Check 21 changes continue to evolve, Quicken monitors industry developments and updates Quicken and the checking products supplied to individuals and businesses. If you purchase your checks from Quicken, we will continue to protect you with our money-back guarantee that our checks will be accepted by every financial institution in the U.S.
Quicken doesn't guarantee, however, that Traditional wallet checks purchased after August 1, 2005 are Check 21 compatible.
For more information about Check 21, visit http://intuitmarket.intuit.com.
How do I know whether I'm using Traditional or Check 21 compliant wallet checks?
By selecting the correct wallet check type before printing your checks, you'll avoid wasting checks because of alignment and reprint issues.
- Get out your checks and find the gray text between the stub and your check.
- The text is printed vertically and includes a year, INTUIT QUICKEN INC., a three-digit number, and a phone number. (For example, 2006 INTUIT QUICKEN INC. #XXX 1–800–433–8810. )
- Examine the three-digit number, beginning with a number sign (#). This number determines your wallet check type.
- Intuit's Check 21 image-compatible wallet checks use any of the following numbers: #808 #828 #848 #868 #888.
- Intuit's Traditional wallet checks use all other numbers.
- For non-Quicken purchased checks, contact your check provider to determine if you're using Check 21 image-compatible checks or Quicken-compatible Traditional wallet checks.
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