If you’ve never set up direct deposit before, it can be intimidating. For that reason, voided checks should never be provided lightly. They should be given only to individuals who are both trusted and necessary in your life. If any person or organization requests a voided check, be prepared to question them about the exact purpose.
How to Void a Check in 3 Steps
Whatever you do, never sign a voided check or write any additional information in the blank spaces provided. The purpose of a voided check is to provide your bank name, routing https://www.online-accounting.net/capital-expenditure/ number, and personal account number. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens.
Step 2: Use blue or black ink to write “VOID”
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- A voided check includes banking information required to ensure correct electronic banking transactions for people who pay bills online and or are paid via direct deposit.
- If the other person is making the payments, he or she will need a voided check from you for the same purpose.
- Though many financial transactions are now paperless, knowing how to void a physical check is useful at times.
Despite being an invalid form of payment, a voided check, which shows your bank’s routing, account and check numbers, can play an important role in setting up various financial transactions. It can serve as a conduit for establishing direct deposits, ACH transfers or to schedule electronic payments from a checking account, whether for personal or business use. Requesting a voided check is the usual way employers set up direct deposit into their employees’ checking accounts. Employees prefer direct deposit because it’s instantaneous and eliminates the need to wait for a paper check to clear their accounts. Employers often use voided checks to set up direct deposits for their payroll, and service providers may need them to set up direct debits.
What is a Voided Check?
If you don’t have access to paper checks that you can void and provide to your employer or a merchant who needs one, there are other ways to set up ACH transactions. You may need to provide a voided check when you set up automatic bill payments, deposits from your employer, or investments from your bank account. Your bank account information appears on those checks, and whoever asked for the voided check will use those details to set up an electronic link to your bank account. There is only one hitch, you need to know how to void a check, and you may not have done that before. Voiding a check can be a key step in setting up financial transitions like regular payroll direct deposits.
When voiding a check, these safety measures can help you to protect yourself from scammers. Criminals can steal mail, then physically wash checks with chemicals and rewrite the check’s value and recipient. Read on to learn exactly how to void a check, why you might need to void a check and return on equity – roe definition what to do if you don’t have any physical checks. If a thief gets their hands on the check, they won’t have a blank check, which they could use to spend your money—effectively stealing from your account. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks.
Knowing how to void a check is useful whether you need to set up auto-pay for a loan or want to start receiving your paycheck via direct deposit. Voided checks allow you to protect your funds from unauthorized use while also providing your pertinent financial information. We think it’s important for you to understand how we make money. The offers for financial products you see on our platform come from companies who pay us.
You may be asked to send a voided check if you want to set up an electronic payment method for certain bills. That will eliminate the need for you either to issue a paper check in payment, or to go online and arrange the electronic payment manually. If you’re unable to provide a voided check, or if your bank doesn’t offer paper checks, there are alternative methods to set up a direct deposit or an electronic payment. Voiding a check is a straightforward process that involves writing the word “VOID” on the check. Many small or less formal organizations may allow you to provide the information from your checking account directly to them in lieu of sending documentation.
Employers may not be the only entities you’ll have a direct deposit arrangement with. Direct deposit will be the preferred way for those institutions to make payments and for you to receive them quickly. Voiding a check is a common practice used to nullify incorrect checks and set up direct deposits or bill payments. The process is fairly straightforward, but it’s important that you do it carefully to avoid someone using your check fraudulently. You can ask your financial institution to send a letter providing all the same information to the party requesting your voided check.
If you don’t, you’ll have a gap in check numbers, leading you to wonder what happened. Did you write a large check to somebody and forget about it, or did that check https://www.online-accounting.net/ gets stolen? In your check register, write “VOID,” along with the check number, date, and a note about why you voided the check (such as who you gave it to).
