Physically walking into a bank, waiting in line and speaking to a teller seems so passé when you consider that you can do your clothing shopping, order your groceries and print shipping labels online. Financial institutions have joined the Internet trend by encouraging customers to enroll in online banking. This service allows you to see digital images of any checks written from your account.

See Your Checks

To find out if your financial institution offers online banking, visit the institution's website. If online banking is available, you will be directed to a log-in screen. You will be prompted for a user name and password, but what you need to look for is the "Sign Up" link. Click this option and you will be directed to a screen where you will be expected to input your bank account number and email address, then create a password. Once you have been assigned a log-in name and password, you can check your account at any time. If you have written a check that have been cashed by the recipient, you can see the withdrawal from your account on the computer screen. Click on the withdrawal to see a scanned image of the check that you wrote. You can even print off a copy of the cashed check if you would like to have a physical record of the transaction.

Digital Images of Checks

Anyone who has ever been audited knows that having easy access to all of your financial records can save you a lot of stress. According to Part 3, Chapter 17, Section 10 of the the Internal Revenue Manual, the IRS accepts the digital images of checks generated by banks as legal copies of the original checks. This saves you the hassle of submitting requests to your bank for copies of checks and having to wait as they sift through mountains of paperwork to find what you need. Being able to see your checks online is really to everyone's benefit.

Source:

OnPoint: Online Banking Sign Up

IRS.gov: Internal Revenue Manual 3.17.10.2.2.1

Bank of America: Frequently Asked Questions