Payment from the past: TOP-7 interesting facts about bank checks

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The history of bank checks has passed over three centuries.

Bank checks were popular in the 1990s

The first check was handwritten on a plain sheet of paper. Its author, the Englishman Nicholas van Acker, was the owner of the Morris & Clayton banking firm. The amount that he promised to a certain Mr. Delboe, at that time was 400 pounds (today it is about 40 thousand pounds). The check has survived to this day, it can be seen in the collection of the Bank of England.

One of the first bank checks.

PaySpace Magazine has collected interesting facts about bank checks.

How do bank checks work?​

In fact, a check is a tool designed for non-cash payments. The owner of the checkbook keeps the money in a bank account. Every time he needs to pay someone, he simply indicates the required amount on the paper and gives the check to the recipient. A person who received a check instead of money must come to the bank within a specified period (usually from 6 to 15 months) and cash it.

What do checks look like?​

The first checks were handwritten - difficult to read. Over time, they became more "readable" - some of the inscriptions were printed on special security paper.

1. The bank that will pay the check amount
2. Payment receiver
3. Date of issue
4. Sum
5. Payment initiator
6. Payment initiator's signature
7. Machine-readable account information

7 interesting facts about checks​

1. The first printed checks appeared in 1717. They were issued by the Bank of England.
2. Check payments peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In Britain alone, 4 billion check payments were made in 1990.
3. 3% of Britons of all ages still use checks instead of other payment instruments.
4. Back in 2015, paper checks were the main method of cross-border payments in the United States.
5. Today it is not necessary to go to a bank to cash a check - the British bank Lloyds offers to send it by mobile.
6. Mobile checkbooks are replacing paper ones.
7. Meanwhile, Denmark has officially canceled bank checks.

Checkbooks in Ukraine​

Ordinary Ukrainians know bank checks mainly from foreign films and foreign literature. We skipped this stage in the development of financial services by going straight to bank cards. Therefore, few people use checks. However, the procedure for using checks is spelled out in our legislation. And in the 2000s, one could come across such checkbooks.