Anyone familiar with'fax checks'? We have a customer (a carpet business) who has customer's wanting to fax copies of checks to him to pay for items. They are acting like this is an acceptable way of running checks through banks. I did a search on BOL and came up with the following.

Checks Presented by FAX
The effects of the terrorist attacks that began September 11 continue to ripple throughout the pond and where the wake hits is sometimes based on new or different uses of technology.

A company in California that allows companies to accept checks by fax claims its business has increased "significantly" because of the nation's nervousness about mail handling. CHAX says that its low-cost system ($229), which uses traditional fax technology and patented computer software to make checking account payments, eliminates concerns about public health caused by the recent mail-related anthrax scare. Paying customers simply fax their checks to the payee company. The company then enters information from the fax onto a form, and a new "check" is printed that will be cleared by a bank.

Here's a web site touting the service. (There are others.) Please note that this one has a link defending Q Chex. If we are known by the company we keep, I know as much as I need to know... They are apparently using the fax document only as a source of information to create a standard paper demand draft; i.e. they are not attempting to process the faxed image.

Obviously, this is not a service your bank would encourage someone to use. Most people don't buy carpet by fax and I'm a little concerned over anyone who wants to.

Ooh, ooh here's another one where they indicate that it's completely legal. So glad to know that.