one result of the September 11th event was that Congress, in 2003, passed legislation known as
Check 21 (Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act) that permitted a printed copy of the digital image of a check (a "substitute check") to have the same legal force as the original item.
The
Check 21 Act enables banks to handle more checks electronically so they can process them more quickly and efficiently (
Check 21 Act, [section]2).
Check 21 did not mandate that banks image-enable processing operations or exchange images with other banks.
7) While
Check 21 has great benefits it does not have everyone's support.
Check 21 permits banks to create and exchange a new kind of paper document, the substitute check.
payment system from interruption, the
Check 21 Act became effective October 28, 2004.
Check 21 also eliminates the return of original checks to consumers, who instead are entitled to substitute checks or reproductions of original checks.
The
Check 21 Act was enacted on October 28, 2003, and becomes effective on October 28, 2004.
At the end of last month, a new federal law popularly known as
Check 21 went into effect.
The objectives of
Check 21 are to facilitate check truncation, foster innovation in the check payment system without mandating the receipt of checks in electronic format, and improve the nation's payment system overall.
The Federal Reserve Banks recently introduced a new suite of
Check 21 products--FedForward SM, FedReturn SM, and FedReceipt SM--to help these institutions get ready.
