The American Bankers Association assigns ABA transit numbers to banks in the US for check clearing. This nine-digit number identifies the bank and Federal Reserve district. It’s used for online payments, direct deposits, and bank transfers. Some banks have multiple transit numbers.
The American Bankers Association (ABA) assigns special numbers to banks in the United States to facilitate check clearing. This special number is called an ABA transit number, but is often referred to as an ABA routing number or just a routing number. The ABA assigns these numbers to banks of all sizes. However, to be assigned an ABA transit number, a bank must meet the Federal Reserve account eligibility criteria.
The ABA transit number originated in 1910 and is currently used to identify the bank from which a check is drawn. This number consists of nine digits and is usually found on the bottom line of a check. To find it, a person can look for the first nine numbers on the bottom line of a check. It usually appears to the left of the checking account number.
The ABA transit number on a check is not a random number. Each transit number consists of digits that identify the territory of the Federal Reserve Bank to which the check is returned before being presented to the appropriate bank for payment. The nine-digit number also contains digits that are identifiers for the institution.
People may not have much reason to pay attention to ABA transit numbers when writing paper checks. In such a case, they have nothing to do with the number. However, they are often used to make payments online or over the phone. For example, if a person decides to pay for their auto insurance online or over the phone, they are typically asked not only for their checking account numbers and the amount of payment they wish to make, but also for the ABA transit number. This allows the payment processor to identify the bank from which the funds will be collected.
A person may need your transit number when it comes time to order new checks for their account. You may also need this number when you want to arrange a direct deposit to your account or in an automatic withdrawal situation. A person may also need to give their ABA transit number when setting up a bank transfer.
Interestingly, some banks have more than one ABA transit number. In fact, there are some banks that have several different ABA transit numbers, one for each region, since checks from one region may go through a different Federal Reserve district than checks from another region. Larger banks tend to have more than one routing number while smaller banks often only have one.
Smart Asset.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
