Febraban issues warning about the correct use of checks.
The institution informs that during the month of January, "for checks dated 2013, banks will adopt verification procedures to check if they were not issued beyond the legally permitted clearing period, which is six months. If it is proven that there was indeed an error by the customer in filling out the check, it will be cleared normally."
From Agência Brasil
Brasilia – The Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) issued a statement to alert account holders about filling out checks next year. The institution informs that during the month of January, "for checks dated with the year 2013, banks will adopt verification procedures to check if they were not issued beyond the period allowed by regulation for their clearing, which is six months. If it is proven that, in fact, there was an error by the client in filling out the check, it will be cleared normally."
Febraban, which processes approximately 1 billion checks per year, assures that the measure will benefit customers, both depositors and issuers, and will minimize impacts and disruptions in bank clearing services.
Another warning concerns security when using checks. Tips include always issuing checks made out to a specific person and crossed, eliminating blank spaces, avoiding erasures, keeping track of deposits and withdrawals on the check stub – including those made with a card, avoiding carrying checkbooks around, and only carrying the number of checks you intend to use that day.
Account holders should also make it a practice, upon receiving a new checkbook, to verify the information regarding their name, account number, and CPF (Brazilian tax identification number), as well as the number of checks in the booklet, and to exercise caution when storing the checkbooks. Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks) also recommends detaching the requisition form from the checkbook and storing it separately, and never leaving signed requisitions or checks in the checkbook.
The entity also advises account holders to destroy inactive account checkbooks, keep checks separate from any personal documents, avoid using felt-tip pens or pens with ink that can be easily erased, avoid pens offered by strangers, not provide personal information over the phone, and never use a typewriter with polyethylene-based ribbon, as the entered values can be easily erased and modified.