Do Your Cheques Meet The New CPA Standard 006?
The CPA (Canadian Payments Association) new Standard 006 for all
cheque specifications were published in January 2005. Since then
the transition to ?image friendly' cheques in Canada is well underway.
The new standards will enable high quality images of all written
cheques to be captured and to make cheque processing more efficient.
The key changes to the specifications include:
-
Adoption of a numeric date field in one of two specified
formats (MMDDYYYY or DDMMYYYY)
-
A mandatory serial number in the MICR line encoded on the
bottom of the cheque.
-
An increase in the minimum length of a cheque from 6"
to 6 1/4", or 15.88 cm, to ensure there is sufficient space
to accommodate the mandatory serial number in the MICR line.
-
Standardized positions for key fields on the cheque, such
as the date field and the amount in figures.
-
Elements that may hinder the capture of images or data from
the cheques is disallowed (e.g., inverse printing, italics or
slanted fonts, a bottom border printed below the MICR line and
the use of black carbon on the reverse of cheques will not be
permitted).
-
New printing requirements on the reverse of the cheque so
that the image capture can be verified.
-
A provision to ensure that security features do not interfere
with key data.
-
Some revisions to technical specification (e.g., maximum
Print Contrast Signal) to ensure high-quality images can be
captured.
Business Cheques
Many businesses have modified their cheques since the publication
of the new specifications in Standard 006 in Jan. 2005. Businesses
that have not yet updated their cheques are strongly encouraged
to do so by June 30, 2007 in preparation for the new image-based
clearing process.
Businesses that print their own cheques or use software to produce
their cheques are strongly encouraged to provide samples of their
cheques to the Credit Union for testing so that we can verify
the cheques meet the new specifications.
Personal Cheques
The new specifications in Standard 006 also apply to personal
cheques. Our cheque printing supplier has been filling cheque
orders with ?new format' cheques since April 2005. Members with
a supply of ?old format' personal cheques are encouraged to re-order
new cheques by June 2007.
An overview of the changes to cheque specifications and the new
Standard 006 are available on the CPA's website at www.cdnpay.ca.
Fixed 1st Mortgage Rates
Term Deposit Rates