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What is the purpose of endorsing a check?
The best reason for endorsing a check is in case it is lost. If the back is blank, a crooked finder could simply write "pay to the order of " on it and deposit it in his own account. You do not need a signature for the endorsement. The safest way to endorse a check is to write "FOR DEPOSIT ONLY" followed by an account number, in which case the signature is not needed. most businesses make up rubber stamps with this and stamp it the minute they receive a check. That way it has no value to anyone else. Depositing checks is increasingly going the way of the dodo. Many businesses today use check truncation - the business scans the check in, sends the digital image to the bank, and stores the check. I was surprised that Chase already has an applet for iPhones that you can use to deposit a check by taking a picture of it!