Monetary instrument

A method for point of presentation information verification for a monetary instrument comprising the steps of:

• machine reading a machine-only readable representation of information appearing on a monetary instrument;
• comparing an information on the monetary instrument with said representation thereof provided by machine reading of the machine-only readable representation;
• and
• in response to similarity, providing an output indication of information verification.

A system for verification of a monetary instrument bearing machine-only readable information thereon comprising:

• a reader which reads said machine-only readable information and provides an output;
• a computer which receives the output of said reader and provides an output of information represented by the machine-only readable information;
• a display which displays, in human recognizable form, said information represented by the machine-only readable information;
• an additional reader which reads human recognizable information on said monetary instrument and provides a second output;
• and
• a comparator which automatically compares the second output with the output of information represented by the machine-only readable information.

A system for verification of a monetary instrument bearing a machine-only readable signature thereon comprising:

• a reader which reads said machine-only readable signature;
• a computer which receives the output of said reader and provides an output of information represented by the machine-only readable signature;
• a display which displays, in human recognizable form, said information represented by the machine-only readable signature,
• wherein said reader is also operative for reading an actual signature from said monetary instrument, said system also comprising:
• a comparator which automatically compares an output of the actual signature with said output of information represented by the machine-only readable signature.