(1) The term “account” means a deposit
account at a bank.
(2) The term
“bank” means any person that is located in a State and engaged in
the business of banking and includes—
(A) any depository
institution (as defined in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Reserve
Act);
(B) any Federal
reserve bank;
(C)
any Federal home loan bank; or
(D) to the extent it acts as a payor—
(i) the Treasury of the United States;
(ii) the United States Postal Service;
(iii) a State government;
or
(iv) a unit of general
local government (as defined in section 602(24) of the Expedited Funds
Availability Act).
(3) (A)
The term “collecting bank” means any bank handling a check for collection
except the paying bank.
(B) The term “depositary bank” means—
(i) the first bank to which a check is transferred, even if such
bank is also the paying bank or the payee; or
(ii) a bank to which a check is transferred
for deposit in an account at such bank, even if the check is physically
received and indorsed first by another bank.
(C) The term “paying bank”
means—
(i) the bank by which a check is payable,
unless the check is payable at or through another bank and is sent
to the other bank for payment or collection; or
(ii) the bank at or through which a check
is payable and to which the check is sent for payment or collection.
(D) (i) The term “returning bank” means
a bank (other than the paying or depositary bank) handling a returned
check or notice in lieu of return.
(ii) No provision of this Act shall be construed
as affecting the treatment of a returning bank as a collecting bank
for purposes of section 4-202(b) of the Uniform Commercial Code.
9-733.1
(4) The term “Board” means the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
(5) The term “business day” has the same
meaning as in section 602(3) of the Expedited Funds Availability Act.
(6) The term “check”—
(A) means a draft, payable on demand and drawn on or payable through
or at an office of a bank, whether or not negotiable, that is handled
for forward collection or return, including a substitute check and
a travelers check; and
(B) does not include a noncash item or an item payable in a medium
other than United States dollars.
(7) The term “consumer” means an individual
who—
(A) with respect to a check handled
for forward collection, draws the check on a consumer account; or
(B) with respect to
a check handled for return, deposits the check into, or cashes the
check against, a consumer account.
(8) The term “consumer account” has the
same meaning as in section 602(10) of the Expedited Funds Availability
Act.
(9) The term “customer”
means a person having an account with a bank.
9-733.2
(10) The term “forward collection” means
the transfer by a bank of a check to a collecting bank for settlement
or the paying bank for payment.
(11) The term “indemnifying bank” means
a bank that is providing an indemnity under section 6 with respect
to a substitute check.
(12) The terms “MICR line” and “magnetic ink character recognition
line” mean the numbers, which may include the bank routing number,
account number, check number, check amount, and other information,
that are printed near the bottom of a check in magnetic ink in accordance
with generally applicable industry standards.
(13) The term “noncash item” has the same
meaning as in section 602(14) of the Expedited Funds Availability
Act.
(14) The term “person”
means a natural person, corporation, unincorporated company, partnership,
government unit or instrumentality, trust, or any other entity or organization.
9-733.3
(15) The term “reconverting
bank” means—
(A) the bank that creates a substitute
check; or
(B) if
a substitute check is created by a person other than a bank, the first
bank that transfers or presents such substitute check.
(16) The term “substitute
check” means a paper reproduction of the original check that—
(A) contains
an image of the front and back of the original check;
(B) bears a MICR line containing
all the information appearing on the MICR line of the original check,
except as provided under generally applicable industry standards for
substitute checks to facilitate the processing of substitute checks;
(C) conforms, in paper
stock, dimension, and otherwise, with generally applicable industry
standards for substitute checks; and
(D) is suitable for automated processing
in the same manner as the original check.
(17) The term “State” has
the same meaning as in section 3(a) of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Act.
9-733.4
(18) The term “truncate”
means to remove an original paper check from the check collection
or return process and send to a recipient, in lieu of such original
paper check, a substitute check or, by agreement, information relating
to the original check (including data taken from the MICR line of
the original check or an electronic image of the original check),
whether with or without subsequent delivery of the original paper
check.
(19) The term
“Uniform Commercial Code” means the Uniform Commercial Code in effect
in a State.
(20) Unless
the context requires otherwise, the terms not defined in this section
shall have the same meanings as in the Uniform Commercial Code.