What is the fractional number on a check

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Tips for Recognizing a Fraudulent Check

What is a Fractional?

A fractional is used to determine the financial institution of the share draft if the MICR line is ever damaged or torn off:

  • 2 digit city and state prefix pre-assigned by “Accuity” (in the example, the prefix is 25 – see red below)
  • Digits 5-8 of the routing number and transit number indicating the institution identifier (in the example, this is 5678 – see blue below.)
  • First 4 digits of the routing and transit number indicating the Federal Reserve district (in the example, this is 1234 – see green below.)

A fractional can be used as a fraud detection tool. The information in the fractional should always match the information in the MICR line. The check shown below is a fraud. The state code “56” should be used, instead of “25,” which is a city code. (See State Codes listed below.)

What is the fractional number on a check

Elements of a Check

What is the fractional number on a check

Federal Reserve Perforation – Look for at least one perforated side on the check

Bank address – The address of the bank should correspond to the appropriate Federal Reserve District. For example, if you receive a check drawn in California, the routing/transit number generally should depict the Twelfth Federal Reserve District (12). Note, however, that some banks with offices in several Federal Reserve Districts are using a routing/transit number for one Federal Reserve District and a bank address in a different Federal Reserve District.

District and Office - The first two digits of field of field 5, the routing/transit number in the MICR line, indicates the Federal Reserve District.

Federal Reserve Districts

01 Boston 07 Chicago
02 New York 08 St. Louis
03 Philadelphia 09 Minneapolis
04 Cleveland 10 Kansas City
05 Richmond 11 Dallas
06 Atlanta 12 San Francisco

The third digit indicates the particular District Office. As an example, in the Sixth District, the numbers and offices are:

District Offices (Sixth District)

1 Atlanta 4 Nashville
2 Birmingham 5 New Orleans
3 Jacksonville 6 Miami

State Codes

Eastern Southeastern
50 New York 60 Pennsylvania
51 Connecticut 61 Alabama
52 Maine 62 Delaware
53 Massachusetts 63 Florida
54 New Hampshire 64 Georgia
55 New Jersey 65 Maryland
56 Ohio 66 North Carolina
57 Rhode Island 67 South Carolina
58 Vermont 68 Virginia
59 Hawaii** 69 West Virginia
Southwestern Western
80 Missouri 90 California
81 Arkansas 91 Arizona
82 Colorado 92 Idaho
83 Kansas 93 Montana
84 Louisiana 94 Nevada
85 Mississippi 95 New Mexico
86 Oklahoma 96 Oregon
87 Tennessee 97 Utah
88 Texas 98 Washington
89 Alaska* 99 Wyoming
  101 Territories and Dependencies*
 
Central
70 Illinois 
71 Indiana
72 Iowa
73 Kentucky
74 Michigan
75 Minnesota
76 Nebraska
77 North Dakota
78 South Dakota
79 Wisconsin

 
*State prefixes for Alaska, Hawaii, and Territories and Dependencies are listed numerically under the corresponding region. They are not, however, geographically located in that region.
 

How do you write the fractional number on a check?

For example, if the “XX” section is 88, it represents Texas. Note down the “YYYY” section of the fractional routing number. It needs to correspond to the second set of digits of the number located at the bottom left-hand corner of the check or digits five through eight of the bank's routing number.

What is a bank fractional?

What is Fractional Banking? Fractional Banking is a banking system that requires banks to hold only a portion of the money deposited with them as reserves. The banks use customer deposits to make new loans and award interest on the deposits made by their customers.

What are the small numbers under the check number?

At the bottom of your check are 3 groups of numbers: your routing number, account number and check number. The bank's routing number is the first set of numbers in the lower left corner of your check.

What is the number under the check number?

What are the numbers on a check? At the bottom of a check, you will see three groups of numbers. The first group is your routing number, the second is your account number and the third is your check number.