1. Notify

Notification that your check may be converted must be prominently displayed in a store or business, and you will be given an additional notification on your receipt or a separate take-away notice. Businesses such as credit card companies, mortgage lenders and others to whom you pay bills must provide written notification on the billing statement or on a separate enclosure with the bill you receive in the mail.

2. Write a Check

Write a paper check and give it to a cashier at a business or store, or send it to a billing company. By writing a check after you have been notified that the company may convert the check, you are authorizing the conversion.

3. Process

The information pertinent to your check payment is automatically captured for this one-time process. This information includes the ID (routing number) of your bank, your account number, check number, and the amount of your payment.

4. Transact

The data captured from your paper check is presented to your financial institution and your account is debited. The possibility for human error is greatly reduced, and the process considerably simplified, since this is all done electronically.

5. Archive

If a check that you've mailed to pay a bill is the payment being converted, your billing company then makes an image of your check and securely stores the original paper document until it is destroyed. This ensures that the original check cannot be used for any other purpose. The image of your original check is archived so that you can request it if you need it.

If you're at a store or business, the check may be voided and handed back to you for your records, or kept for processing. If the check is kept for processing, the store or business will archive a copy of the check and will securely store the original until it is destroyed.

6. Record

The statement from your bank will detail the payment, which may appear similar to a check listing, or show up as an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), similar to an ATM withdrawal or Direct Payment.