If you are attempting to access and provide cash to fund an online transaction, or you have decided to fill out a form for a new direct deposit, chances are that you will be asked to provide your bank routing number. This number is made up of nine digits, and is provided by the American Bankers Association (ABA). The number is unique, and identifies the location of your particular bank account. Most often, it is used to identify the financial institution that you use during a transaction, and some credit unions or banks may have numerous numbers in order to serve different geographical regions, purposes, or branches.
If you have never been asked to provide your routing number in the past, then you may find yourself struggling to locate it on your check. Fortunately, there are two simple ways to find bank by routing number. The first one is to examine the check itself, whereas the second one requires you to contact your bank or credit union.
Examining Your Check
Start by analyzing the lower left hand corner of your bank check – as this is usually where you are likely to find bank by routing number. You may discover an icon in the MICR BankerScriber font – this icon will not be readable like a letter or number, and should not be regarded as part of the routing number.
Read the first nine numbers – as all routing numbers are made up of nine digits, and the first nine numbers in the lower left hand side after the MICR character should be your personal routing number. Do be sure to exclude any unreadable characters in determining your number. Following your routing number, there will be another set of numbers and an MICR character, which identifies your account number. After that, there will be yet another MICR number, and that will match your check number.
A helpful rule of thumb to consider when looking for your routing number is that they begin with the number 0, 1, 2, or 3.
Contacting Your Bank Or Going Online
If you have trouble finding your routing number on your bank check, then you can always look for your bank's number online. The routing number of any given bank should be publically available, and the best place to start looking is typically your bank's website. There may be a tab or link on the website that will direct you to information about routing numbers, and often banks have this information published online.
Another method for searching includes entering your bank name into Google and adding the words "routing number". You'd be surprised at how useful search engines can be when it comes to finding information on a conventional website.
If you aren't comfortable with searching for your number online to find bank by routing number, then you always have the option to contact your bank over the phone and ask for the routing number. The person you speak to will be experienced enough to advise you and give you the information that you are looking for.