Have you ever been asked to provide a Specimen Cheque but don’t have any idea what information they contain or how to obtain one? Why are they so important anyway? The reason you need to understand the inner workings of specimen cheques are because they allow you to share your banking information with others. Specimen cheques are still very useful when it comes to getting paid or pre-authorizing payments. Though they are not widely used in Canada, there still might come a point where you need to provide a specimen cheque to someone, and we’re here to guide you through the process.
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How to Understand a Scotiabank Specimen Cheque
Your Scotiabank Specimen Cheque can be found in your online banking portal, but you might not be familiar with how it works or what each important feature on the cheque means. We are going to breakdown the important key features on a specimen cheque in Canada so you can be a banking whiz.
#1 Home Address
Your home address should be featured on your specimen cheque. Though you know your address by heart, whoever is receiving your specimen cheque will need that information.
#2 Transit Number
The transit number is a 5 digit number that allows the Scotiabank branch to see which bank account you are associated with.
#3 Institution Number
There is a 3 digit number that signifies the financial institution you are dealing with. The institution number of Scotiabank is 002, so this will be consistent regardless of the branch you are associated with, because they are all the same.
#4 Account Number (Folio Number)
Your account number (or folio number) is the overarching identifier to your bank account. If you do not provide your transit number and institution number, you may not transfer money. Therefore, the most important and sensitive information on your specimen cheque is your account number. Scotiabank account numbers are either 7 or 12 digits long, though other financial institutions account numbers vary in length.
Finding Your Specimen Cheque in Your Online Portal
If you’re old school and still have a cheque book, you’d be able to easily access a specimen cheque (or void cheque) from there. But the vast majority of people have switched to online banking which allows you to do your banking paperlessly, and have access to all your information at your fingertips. Obtaining a specimen cheque is as easy as logging into your online portal. So let us break it down step by step:
Step 1: First, login to your Scotiabank account which can be found here.
Step 2: Click on the account you would like to retrieve a Specimen Cheque for.
Step 3: Click the “Documents” tab.
Step 4: Click “Set Up Direct Deposits & Payments”.
Step 5: Under the list of document types, find "Void Cheque" and click the “View” action.
Step 6: A PDF of the void cheque containing your banking information will open in your browser. All you need to do is download it.
It’s really that simple! Now you understand what your Specimen Cheque should contain, why you might need one, and how to access it. At Insurdinary, we believe in educating our community so that Canadians like you can make educated financial decisions.
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