Is Software For Writing Checks Legal?


December 26, 1998

ANSWER: Yes. There are many programs available that let you write and print your own checks using a home computer.

If you wanted, you could hand-print a check on the back of a cocktail napkin. As long as it has your legal signature and your account number - and if you have enough money to cover it - banks are obligated to honor your check.

That means there is no legal requirement to have your account number and the bank routing number printed in magnetic ink - typically found on checks that you buy from your bank.

Most banks simply prefer checks with magnetic ink because it speeds the processing.

Q: What is a click-through?

A: This is an advertising term that has arisen since the advent of the Web.

A click-through refers to a person who clicks on a Web ad - such as a banner - and arrives at the advertiser's Web site. Every time you click on a Web ad, that makes you a click-through.

Q: What is the Web address for the company that sells the $400 computers you wrote about a few months ago?

A: The brand name is PowerSpec. The Web address is

You may find PowerSpec brand computers in stores called MEI/Micro Center. Most of the chain's stores are in the Northeast and Midwest, but the company has announced plans to branch into Florida in 1999.

The company has upgraded the specification of the $399 computer. It now comes with a 233 MHz Cyrix processor, 32 megabytes of RAM, a 2.5 gigabyte hard drive, a 24X CD-ROM drive and a 33,600 bit-per-second modem. Monitors are extra.

PowerSpec's toll-free number is 1-800-379-5651.

Orlando Sentinel Articles