Do You Know How to Write a Cheque?
by: May Chiam
SaveMoney.my knows that a great number of you may never have written a cheque, but it’s never too late to learn, so read on to learn!
1. Date of the Cheque
You write the date you issue the cheque here. It should be written in 6 digits, 2 digits each for day, month, and year. You should not post-date (writing a date in the future) a cheque – write the current date instead – because it’s against the policy of most banks and hence may not be cleared. If you must post-date a cheque, when you pass it to someone, be sure to mention not to present it to the bank before the date on it.
2. Payee’s (Recipient’s) Name
This is where you write the name of the person/company/organisation to whom the cheque is intended for (i.e. the money will be transferred to them). Ensure that you write legibly and correctly spell the payee’s name; the name should match the registered name of the payee’s bank account and you should write it close to BAYAR/pay.
3. Payment Amount in Words
Here you write the payment amount in words. In the sample above, dollars and cents are included, although you certainly should not do so yourself (Malaysian currency is Ringgit and sen, after all). If you want to pay RM123,456.78, you should write ‘one hundred and twenty three thousand four hundred and fifty-six and sen seventy-eight only’. It’s important to make sure that the payment amount in words is the same as the figure written in the amount box.
4. Payment Amount in Figures
In this box, you write the payment amount in figures. Two decimal places is usual, given that you may need to write cents as well.
5. Your Signature
On this line you sign your name. Make sure that your signature does not extend too far beyond the line, especially not where it will obscure the other areas of the cheque.
6. “A/C Payee Only” and Cash Cheques
You’ve probably heard these 2 terms before. If you must issue a cash cheque (that is, without a name such that anyone may go to your bank branch and take money out), you have to ‘cross’ the part of the cheque, with either one or two straight perpendicular lines, that says “A/C Payee Only” and sign again beside that part. Be very careful, though, because once you do this, the cheque is effectively cash and anyone can take it to your bank branch and withdraw the money.
Do’s and Don’ts
Now that you know the very basics of filling out a cheque, here are some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind.
DO remember to use a non-erasable blue or black pen.
DO remember to write legibly and accurately.
DO ensure that you have sufficient funds in your bank account (i.e. more than the amount on the cheque).
DO keep your chequebook in your possession at all times.
DON’T use felt tip pen, pencil, or other erasable inks to write your cheques. You don’t want whatever you have written, especially the amount, to be altered in any way.
DON’T sign a blank cheque or issue one as payment (for an unscrupulous recipient, it would be invitation to deplete your account of its hard-earned funds).
DON’T pin, staple, or fold written cheques.
DON’T write anything below the Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) field of the cheque.
And there you have it, how to write a cheque, courtesy of SaveMoney.my! Now start making those payments with this newly acquired skill!
* May Chiam of SaveMoney.my, an online consumer advice portal which aims to help Malaysians save money through smart (and most of the time painless) savings in their daily banking, technology, and lifestyle spending habits.
