If you don’t have paper checks, you can still get a check from your nearest bank branch. You can get a voided check by asking a teller to print one for you. There may be a fee for this service, so make sure you ask before you start the process. With the rise of online banks, your checking account may not come with a supply of paper checks. 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.

• While providing the banking information to someone one should keep in mind that the check should not be used as a blank check by someone.
• If you’re trying to set up online bill payments, you may be able to do that through your online banking access, with no voided checks or paper forms required.
• FinanceBuzz and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
• Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the bank advertiser, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser.
• We recommend you review the privacy statements of those third party websites, as Chime is not responsible for those third parties’ privacy or security practices.

FinanceBuzz is an informational website that provides tips, advice, and recommendations to help you make financial decisions. We strive to provide up-to-date information, but make no warranties regarding the accuracy of our information. Ultimately, you are responsible for your financial decisions. FinanceBuzz is not a financial institution and does not provide credit cards or any other financial products. To void a cheque, you simply need to write the word “VOID” in ink in large capital letters across the front, without covering the numbers at the bottom of the check.

Example of a Voided Check

Void checks are a common way to provide your account details to the payer. Employers often use voided checks to set up direct deposits for their payroll, and service providers may need them to set up direct debits. This is because a blank check has all the information they need, such as routing or account numbers. Although it is not strictly necessary to get this information from a check, using one reduces the likelihood of a transcription or other type of error. If you don’t have a chequebook, you can still get a void cheque. Most banks make it easy to access void cheques via online banking. This information is then used to set up things like direct deposits or bill pay.

Make sure the bank routing number and your account number on the bottom of the check are still readable, as well as the name and address of the bank . Alternatively, you could write “void” in the payee line, dollar amount box, signature line, and dateline. Voiding a check makes it unable to be processed or honored by a bank. It provides you with added protection if you need to give someone a check for the purposes of setting up direct deposit or to make a direct payment from your account. It gives the company asking for the check what they need and prevents them or anyone who might get their hands on the check from adding information, such as a payee or dollar amount. On a voided cheque, you’ll find three key sets of numbers that a company or employer will need to set up direct deposit or pre-authorized payments. If you’re among the 94% of American workers who prefer to receive their paychecks through direct deposit, you may need to give your employer a voided check to set things up.

How to Write and Read a Cheque

A voided check can be useful for providing the necessary information for certain electronic payments, such as direct debits. A voided check is a check which is no longer valid and has the word ‘void’ written on the front. Justin Pritchard, CFP, is a fee-only advisor and an expert on personal finance. He covers banking, loans, investing, mortgages, and more for The Balance. He has an MBA from the University what is a voided check of Colorado, and has worked for credit unions and large financial firms, in addition to writing about personal finance for more than two decades. Keep in mind that voiding a check may also be necessary if you’re writing a check and making a mistake. If you write the wrong dollar amount, then you’d have to void the check to keep the person or business you write it out to from cashing or depositing it.

If someone gets your checkbook, they may try to write checks against your account. It’s possible https://www.bookstime.com/ that they would succeed, causing money to be removed from your account without your consent.

Featured Articles

This can happen if you accidentally write the wrong amount on the check, or if you write the wrong name down for the recipient. You won’t need a void cheque very often, but it’s very inconvenient not knowing how to make one when you do. Then, you can tear a cheque from the book, void it, and give it to whoever needs it. You may also request a letter from your bank with your vital account information, or you can get a preprinted deposit slip or counter cheque from your bank and use that instead. Instead, the receiver is most interested in a void cheque for the transit number, financial institution number, and account number.

Knowing how to void a blank check can be useful in certain situations, such as when you want to set up direct deposit into your checking account. Voiding a check is simple, but needs to be done correctly to ensure that your bank account stays secure and that you avoid unnecessary fees when possible. To void a check to provide your employer to set up direct deposit, take a blank check and write “VOID” in large letters across the entire check. Be certain that you don’t cover the routing or the account numbers, which your employer will use to make sure your paycheck goes to the right account. Make a copy of the check to send to your employer, and keep the original for your own records.