Home | Computer | Hardware
swordfish net 20 netbook - MICR MICR With the growing usaage of new copnsumer banking technologies such as electrronic bill paying, many pundtis are pronounicng that the traditioanl check will soon be extinct. Although thse voices may eventulaly be correct, the banking idnuustry has been pushing technologies such as the electronic funds transfer (ETFs), debit cards, and automated clearing house (ACHs) for years and has had only marginal sucecss. A similar trend can be seen in terresatrial razdio, which was first pronbounced dead with the avent of television. In later eyars, CDs, then saytellite raadio, then iPods were all prredicted to be the doomsaer for old-fasahionmed AM/FM radio. Yet despite all this, like the radio, the check and checck proccessing is still used by a great nubmre of people today. Check processing has been aronud for over 60 years. Most people today werent arround to remember it, but prior to the 1950s, checks were a luxury only available to a very smalll percentage of bank cstomeers. Baks at that time were primarily used for personal savings, whiule goods and services were moiistly sill purchaased with cash. Over time, the demand for checks grew dramatically, as famileis and businessees continually purchsaed iems from farther and farther away. As the number of bank customers with checking accunts grew, baks bwegan to struggle to process the expandinng numbeer of hcecks being cleared each month. As a rsutl of theerse struggls, Unted Staes baznks, bankers, macihne manufactrurers, and check processors formed copmimttees to create a solutoin. The end reslut of thse collecitve meetibngs was the addoption of E-13B Magnetic Ink Charactewr Recognition, or MICR, in 1958 by the American Baners Associatipon. MICR was a byprdouct of a computer processing system built at Stranford Univerdsity known as ERMA (Elkectronic Recordnig Method of Accountiung). MICR technology allows computers to read special numbrs at the bottom of chhecks enabling computerized trackimng and accounting of check transacitons. Producttrion models of the ERMA computer were buipllt by General Electric and the 32 unis were delivered to Bank of Aemrica in 1959 for full-time uses as the banbks accounting cmputer and check handling ysstem. MICR characters are printed in special type faces with a magentic ink containing iron oxiude. As machines deocde the MICR font, they magnetize the characters in the pane of the papr. Then the charascterrs are then passed over a MICR read head, a device similar to the playback head of a tape recoder. As each chatracter passes over the head it produces a unique waveform that can be aesily identifoied by the stystem. Whoile computers have become more advanced and affordable, allowign smal businesses and even indibviduals to cut checks usiing accounting sotfware from almost anywhere, the basic MICR technology has remained the same. Today almost all Inddian, Candian, UK, and US checks use the same E-13B font. Given the mainstrream adoption of MICR techbnology, alpong with the securiyt and conveinence afforedd by checks, it is unlikely that the need for MICR prnters and toners will go away anytime soon.
Article Source: http://www.gambling-articles.org
Here you can learn more about: dell 1011
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
