These numbers help protect against fraud, and they can be read by both machines and humans. The bank line-the misshapen numbers and characters that run along the bottom of the check-includes the bank code, bank account number, check number, and document-type indicator. Due to a surge in the use of checks, this process became too time-consuming, so it became automated. Before the advent of magnetic ink in the 1950s, all checks had to be processed manually by individuals. The ink is used in conjunction with Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) technology. Magnetic ink is used primarily by the banking industry to make the processing of checks fast, accurate, and secure.
