Use of the Padlock icon

The padlock icon was redesigned as of December 31, 2000, for check processing machine readability. This version is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Requirements for Use of the Enhanced Check Security Features Padlock Icon

In order to use the icon, the Check Payment Systems Association requires designating the presence of a minimum of three (3) features that defend against both alteration and counterfeiting (i.e. the feature chosen shall protect against at least one method of counterfeiting and at least one method of alteration). These can be physical features, involving design or printing, or paper features, or a combination of both. Only overt security features that are visually detectable or are disclosed on the document itself can be counted toward fulfilling this requirement. Covert security features do not count toward fulfilling this requirement.

The Padlock Icon printed on the front of the check and its corresponding descriptive verbiage along with the padlock icon and warning box printed on the back of the document represents one feature. Thus, two additional features must be present and designated to satisfy the minimum requirement.

Figure 2

The placement of the Padlock Icon shall be on the front side of the check to the right of the word “dollars” as shown in Figure 2. To prevent problems with machine readability, the use of the certification mark symbol ® is not required on the front of the check. The ® symbol must be present in the warning box on the back of the check document.

A descriptive statement as shown in Figure 2 shall be used in conjunction with the Padlock Icon. It is important that the public understand what the icon is. Without the descriptive statement, the security feature loses some of its effectiveness. The verbiage shown in Figure 2 is an example only and the actual text, font and font size to be used is at the discretion of each printer.

The Padlock Icon shall be repeated on the back of the check in conjunction with a warning box. This box provides the printer with a place to list the various security features that are present on that document. This listing serves to advise the person accepting the check as to what security features they should look for, if they feel that the document might be suspect.

Figure 3

The warning box shall be located on the back of the check on the leading edge (at the bottom of the Subsequent /Returning Bank Endorsement Area) as shown in the example in Figure 3.

The format and the verbiage in the warning box in not prescribed, except for the incorporation of the Padlock Icon. For the visual recognition version of the Padlock Icon, the following verbiage must appear in the warning box: “Padlock design is a certification mark of the Check Payment Systems Association”. Authorized Padlock Icon users will be notified when the above verbiage should be incorporated into the warning box for the machine-readable version of the icon. An example of the warning box text is shown in below.