Here's how to fill out checks in the new design starting July 1

The Philippine Clearing House Corporation (PCHC) will implement a new format in filling out checks, effective on Tuesday, July 1.

In line with PCHC Memo Circular No. 3814, banks have released guidelines on how to properly fill out checks in the new design. This includes the removal of certain symbols and details, and following the standard format date in numerical form. 

To better guide you, here are the things you need to keep in mind when filling out checks starting July 1.

• Issue date. The issue date on the check must be filled out in month-day-year numerical format. No special characters like slash (/) and/or asterisk (*) should be included between the month, date, and year.
• Payee. Indicate only one payee, it could be a person's name, a company, or the word "Cash." Avoid writing a combination of both, like "(Person's name) or Cash" as it will be deemed invalid. 
• Amount in figures. The amount must be written in numbers, separated by a comma (",") for hundreds, thousands, and millions, and a period (".") for centavos. (ex. 100,000.00) Do not put a peso sign or any symbols before and after the numeric account. 
• Amount in words. There are no restrictions with regards on symbols for this part, but it must match the amount in figures. You can also write it with or without the word "only." (ex. "***One Hundred Thousand Pesos***" or "One Hundred Thousand Pesos Only."
• Signature. The signature must be placed on the designated box located in the lower right part of the check. The new check design includes two signature boxes. Both signatories may share one box. Signatures going outside the box are still acceptable.

Remember that checks that don't follow the new format will not be accepted for deposit or clearing.

These changes came after the PCHC announced a new check design in 2024. It said this was to set a standard or uniform format of writing the date on checks to avoid misinterpretation of date issued. This also aims to enhance check processing capabilities by providing banks better optical character recognition features that are needed for an automated check verification system.