Business As Usual for "Old Format" Cheque

The CPA's transition period for businesses to adopt the new cheque specifications "officially" ends on September 2nd. However, both the CPA and member financial institutions recognize that some “old-format” cheques will remain in the clearing system after that date.

Therefore, in order to avoid disruption to BMO customers, until further notice, you should continue business as usual and BMO will continue to accept "old-format" business cheques on deposit beyond the official deadline of September 2nd.

In addition, "old-format" personal cheques can still be used until your next re-order date, provided that a good image can be captured. Experience to date suggests that the vast majority of our customer cheques are already image-friendly.

What do I need to do?

Business Banking Customers

The new specifications in Standard 006 require all businesses to modify their cheques. At this point, all businesses ordering new cheques should ensure that they meet the new specifications.

To help business customers make a smooth transition, financial institutions are providing a grace period for "old format" business cheques. This extended grace period will allow businesses that are still working on the changes to use up their existing supply of cheques and to make any required changes to software.

Your cheques already meet the new standards if you ordered cheques through BMO Bank of Montreal or a major cheque-printing supplier after the dates listed below:

Company Date
Davis and Henderson (BMO) April 2005
Intuit Canada (Quicken & QuickBooks software) September 2005
NEBS Business Products Limited March 2005
SAFEGUARD Business Printing January 2006
Sage Software Products (Simply Accounting 2006) November 2005
Troy Group Inc February 2006
WESTKEY Graphics January 2006

Personal Banking and Line of Credit Customers

Formats for personal cheques have also been modified. If you are a Personal Banking and/or Line of Credit Customer and have ordered new cheques from BMO Bank of Montreal since April 2005 your cheques already meet the new standards. You can continue to use "old format" cheques until you need to re-order a new supply.

If your cheques do not match the sample below, new cheques can be ordered through your BMO Bank of Montreal branch, by calling 1 800 363-9992 or through your current cheque supplier1.

For cheques ordered through any other supplier or are self-printed using software and have not already been tested. It is recommended that you take 10 voided cheques to a BMO Bank of Montreal branch for testing and you will be notified within 15 business days if any changes to your cheques are required.

Snapshot of new cheque standard

In order to produce high-quality images and make cheque processing and reconciliation activities more efficient, all cheques (CDN and USD) in Canada need to be updated in accordance with the new CPA cheque standard format, known as Standard 006.

Key changes to the cheque specifications include:

Photo of a check, numbered at specific points.

  1. Numeric date field in one of three specified formats — YYYYMMDD, MMDDYYYY or DDMMYYYY
  2. A mandatory serial number in the MICR line encoded on the bottom of the cheque
  3. The minimum length of a cheque increases from 6” to 6 ¼”, or 15.88 cm, to ensure there is sufficient space to accommodate the mandatory serial number in the MICR line
  4. Positions for key fields on the cheque, including date and amount in figures, have been standardized
  5. Elements that may hinder the capture of images or data from the cheques, such as inverse printing, italics or slanted fonts, a bottom border printed below the MICR line, or the use of black carbon on the reverse of cheques, will not be permitted
  6. Security features should not interfere with key data, or “areas of interest” as defined in Standard 006, Part A
  7. New printing requirements for the reverse of the cheque.

Important: US Dollar cheques and self-print cheques may require additional modifications. Visit www.cdnpay.ca for more details.

To learn more about the new cheque specifications and standards:
1For cheques ordered through BMO Bank of Montreal, standard cheque fees apply.