A check is an order for payment.
French is where we can find the etymological origin of the term check . More precisely, it is found in the word eschec , which can be defined as “check” and which was used in chess to express that a player had made a move that seriously endangered the figure of the king. A word that would later give rise to another English term: check .
A check is a written payment order that allows the person who receives it to collect a certain amount of money that is stipulated in the document and that must be available in the bank account of the person issuing it.
It is important to highlight the fact that in their origins checks were used as a measure to avoid fraud in banks thanks to the fact that the signatures of those who made the different deposits were stored in them and these were compared when someone was going to make the payment. of one of those checks.
Characteristics of a check
The check, therefore, is a title through which an individual is authorized to withdraw money from an account, without the need for this subject to be the owner of said account. For this reason, the check is used as a means of payment, replacing cash.
For example: “Can I pay you with a check? Right now I don't have cash” , “Tomorrow I have to go to the bank to cash the check for the last job we did” , “I'm furious: the bank told me that the check had no funds so I couldn't cash it” .
At a legal level, the check is defined as a security through which the drawer orders the banking entity to pay a certain amount of money in favor of a beneficiary.
Checks must meet different requirements, such as including the date and place where it is issued, the order to pay a specific amount of money, the name of the credit organization and the place where the payment will be made, among others. .
The check can be mentioned as a security.
Classification according to type
Among the different types of checks, we can mention the nominative check (which can only be cashed by the person indicated in the document), the check to order (the beneficiary can cash it or transfer it as payment to another person, for which he must endorse it - sign it). -) and the bearer check (can be cashed by anyone).
In addition to those mentioned, we have to explain that there are other types of checks. Thus, for example, there is what is known as a blank check , which is a document issued by someone for the benefit of another person but without establishing the monetary amount that the latter will collect. It is common for this to appear as a resource in cinema when an attempt is made to show that one of the characters is trying to buy the silence or work of another. To do this, he gives him one of these checks with which he makes it clear that he is willing to give him whatever he wants as long as he accepts his proposal.
Likewise, we cannot ignore that in Honduras this term in question is used as an interjection. With it, what is expressed is that someone shows their agreement with something.