Making sense of the parts of a check

How to write a check

Physical checks are not necessarily in vogue anymore, but there are several situations in which one should know how to write them. This article breaks down the basics of checks for beginners, from acquiring a checkbook to filling them out. Consult with their example template to make sure you got it right.

Paper check usage is down 83% over 25 years

At the start of the millennium, more than 68 million checks were processed daily. Amid the adoption of automated clearinghouse (ACH) payment systems, that number has sunk to 12 million a day.

Congress mandated that the Fed streamline check payments

When it was first created in the 1910s, the Federal Reserve System became a crucial link between the nation's regional banks. The increasing number of checks used by the thousands of banks across the nation required a central operator, and the Fed was uniquely positioned to help. Learn more about the role the Fed played in the history of checks.

Peruse a running sale of collectible checks

The George H. Labarre galleries hold regular auctions of collectible checks, along with other numismatic items (such as coins, paper money, and so on). See the antiquated iconography on old checks from railroads, regional banks, and businesses.

The idea of a check—or promissory note—goes back to antiquity

As long as traders have looked to pay in cash or coin, the idea of an IOU has been close behind. Clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia (roughly modern Iraq) and Persia (Iran) suggest proto-checks were used at the time. Islamic traders innovated "sakks" in the 9th century, leading to the broader adoption during the Middle Ages in Europe.

How the checking account has evolved into a platform of features rather than a product

The accounts act as an anchor for customer relationships that banks need to retain said customers. As fintech companies unbundle the checking account without technically being chartered banks, traditional banks face pressure to innovate the checking account experience.

Master the banking basics

Before deciding on a credit union, it’s important that you understand the basics. That way you can know exactly what’s happening with your hard-earned money behind the scenes. Flip through these flashcards to make sure you understand key terms like “deposit” and “checking account.” Then, you can read up on top banking products and start to find a credit union that works for you. Click here, then scroll down the page to find the cards.

The US Currency Education Program created a guide to authenticating currency

This video was created to teach everyday people a few easy ways to spot some counterfeit banknotes. Specifically, it outlines the main security features to check for that are common across many US banknotes, such as the color-shifting ink visible when tiling US banknotes $10 or higher.

Financial institutions check for lots of things before authorizing a purchase

Before authorizing a purchase, card issuers consider whether or not the cardholder has a high enough available credit limit to make the purchase, where the purchase is being made in order to reduce fraud, and more.

Visualizing the history of money

Money is any medium of exchange used in payments for goods or services and can take many forms. From cattle and shells in ancient times to paper and blockchain today, money has taken many shapes and sizes. This infographic illustrates some of the major forms of exchange world cultures have used over the last 5,000 years.

Where colleges get their money, visualized

If you're curious about how different colleges and universities generate their revenue, this National Center for Education Statistics webpage offers a clear visual breakdown. See how public, private nonprofit, and for-profit institutions fund their operations, highlighting the differences between funding sources depending on the type of institution.

Decoding sports-betting language

The world of sports gambling is filled with insider lingo: What's a "spread"? How about a "moneyline" or a "parlay"? This resource breaks down the jargon, helping you navigate the industry or, at least, giving you the keys to talk about it.

What is the 240 paychecks retirement rule?

Many people think about the large sum of money they'll require to retire comfortably. It can be intimidating. The 240 retirement method breaks that thinking down into paychecks. Specifically, the framework argues that the average retiree will need 240 paychecks to retire. Learn more here.

A look at nodes and miners in managing bitcoin transactions

Each time a transaction involving bitcoin is carried out, the information must be relayed and recorded onto the currency’s blockchain. Multiple steps are involved, including the passage of the transaction to various nodes and miners who comprise multiple layers of verification and validation. See an illustrated guide to how these two crucial features of bitcoin processing work here.

What are business credit scores?

Businesses have credit scores the same way individuals do—with a few key differences. For one thing, business credit scores range from 0 to 100 instead of 300 to 850, and are based on factors such as bankruptcy and bill-paying habits.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public

A prospectus typically contains information about the company's operations, including details about its management team and their compensation, financial statements, how it intends to use any capital raised by the IPO, and more. While these documents can be dense and lengthy, experts say that some of the most important sections of a prospectus for investors to look at include the risk factors section and the use of proceeds section.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

What is a 401(k)?

Should you get a 401(k)? To make sense of this obscure piece of tax code, here’s a beginner’s guide to one of the more common forms of retirement savings in the US. Learn the history of the 401(k), how to sign up for one, the different types, and more in this well-organized and concise explainer from Investopedia.

Understanding the distinctions between coffee types

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed looking at a coffee shop menu, you're not alone. Here's a breakdown between common coffee styles. Click through the link to see similar guides to espresso and cold drinks.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Read through the actual text of the US Constitution

This helpful guide from the US Congress includes annotations that provide valuable insights into the background, crafting, and legacy of each article in the document. Additionally, the resource offers accessible legal analysis and interpretations.

'Payment in kind' is a compensation method that uses alternatives to cash

Companies can make payments using goods, services, or additional securities instead of cash, helping companies preserve their cash flow. Public BDCs receive roughly 8% of their investment income via PIK.

Visualize the components of fireworks

This article provides animated diagrams depicting how different parts of fireworks function. The elements work together through timed mechanisms to produce desired effects.

Find 36 hidden messages in these household name company logos

Brand logos are designed to represent a business's core values and products in a unique, differentiating way. We experience this branding mechanism regularly, and hundreds of businesses are recognizable to us via only this one symbol, even when...

Chess is played on an 8×8 board with 16 pieces per side

Chess begins with two players facing off on a checkered 64-square board. Each controls 16 pieces—king, queen, rooks, bishops, knights, and pawns—with the goal of checkmating the opposing king.

Visualize how passkeys, which rely on asymmetric cryptography to authenticate users, work

After using biometrics or a PIN to access the private key stored on a device, it is combined with a random number generated by the site to produce a cryptographic signature. This signature is verified using the site's public key, allowing a user to log in without entering a password. This reduces the risk of fraudulent messages—phishing attacks—and data breaches.

What is a cell? A great quick overview.

YourGenome.org furnishes a collection of information on cells and how they work. Every body has trillions of cells, each serving a specific function: making proteins, processing chemicals, and creating energy. Every cell contains a genome, a set of instructions for the cell's function. Brush up on your cells for a better grasp on genetics.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

This poison ivy knowledge quiz—accompanied by photos of the plant's varied forms—may help you identify this common rash-inducing growth.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

In its famous catalog, Sears sold $600 DIY house kits from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in an estimated 100,000 'Sears and Roebuck homes.'

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Ebola infects and disables immune cells, triggering a cascade of events that leads to small blood clots throughout the body, weakening blood vessels and interrupting blood flow to key organs.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight