If You Still Need Help ...

If your customers and members are still asking questions about Check 21, you might want to go to the Federal Reserve web site and download the two excellent consumer informational documents published there. They are government publications and therefore available to anyone who wants them. Many financial institutions are printing them up for distribution as needed.

The "Consumer Guide to Check 21 and Substitute Checks" is a pamphlet that can be printed back-to-back to make a four part fold-over. It tells how consumers may be affected by the new law in a question and answer format, including information on why banks are creating substitute checks and how to resolve problems that may arise from them. You can find this publication at www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/ check21/consumer_guide.pdf

"What You Should Know About Your Checks" is a two-page flyer that discusses how check payments have changed, and explains the electronic check conversion. The illustrations on that document provide a visual explanation that is easy to understand. This publication is found at www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/check21/shouldknow.htm

Copyright © 2004 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 14, No. 9, 11/04