The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (or Check 21 Act) is a United States federal law, , enacted into law October 28, 2003 by the 108th Congress. It took effect one year later, on October 28, 2004. The law allows the recipient of the original paper check to create a digital version of the original check—called a "substitute check," thereby eliminating the need for further handling of the physical document. Consumers are most likely to see the effects of this act when they notice that certain checks (or image of) are no longer being returned to them with their monthly statement even ...

Remote deposit refers to the ability to deposit a check into a bank account from one's home or office without having to physically deliver the actual check to the bank. This is typically accomplished by scanning a digital image of a check into a computer, then transmitting that image to the bank—a practice that became legal in the United States in 2004 when the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (or Check 21 Act) took effect. This service is typically used by businesses, though a remote deposit application for consumers has been developed and has begun to be implemented by a handful of...

A signature is a stylized script associated with a person. It is comparable to a seal. In commerce and the law, a signature on a document is an indication that the person adopts the intentions recorded in the document. An electronic signature is any electronic means that indicates that a person adopts the contents of an electronic message. The U.S. Code defines an electronic signature for the purpose of US law as "an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the r...