Remember when...

Personal checks weren't so personal

I am old enough to remember when personal checks were not personalized with names and account numbers.

Everyone used what was called "counter checks." Banks would provide pads of blank checks with the bank's name and address on it to merchants. If the merchant ran out of the correct pad of blank checks, another bank's blank was used with the name of the bank crossed out and the name of the correct bank written in.

Customers who wanted to buy something from the store by check would simply fill in the blanks and sign their name.

In small towns, the merchant might have pads from three or four banks, including from a nearby town.

This counter check was deposited just like regular checks are today. The banks read each check and routed it by hand to the appropriate bank. Posting of customer accounts at the bank was done by hand on an account card. No machine posting was available. This was well before computers existed.

The person doing the posting saw every check written by everyone at their bank and knew where their customers had been and what they had purchased. They even knew if the customer had been in Las Vegas gambling. Between the bank bookkeepers and the telephone operators, who could listen in on phone conversations, there were no secrets.

Floyd Fenix is a local businessman and educator.

Upcoming Events