A routing transit number (RTN) , is a nine digit bank code, used in the United States, which appears on the bottom of negotiable instruments such as checks identifying the financial institution on which it was drawn. This code is also used by Federal Reserve Banks to process Fedwire funds transfers and by the Automated Clearing House to process direct deposits and other automated transfers. The routing number is derived from the bank's transit number originated by the American Bankers Association, which designed it in 1910.
ABA number management
Since 1911, the American Bankers Association has assigned transit numbers through a series of registrars, currently Accuity. The company is responsible for assigning new ABA numbers. Accuity publishes the ABA Number Directory in the American Bankers Association Key to Routing Numbers semi-annually.
There are approximately 28,000 active routing and transit numbers currently in use. Every financial institution in the United States has at least one of these.
The ABA transit number appears in two forms on a standard check - the fraction form and the MICR form. Both forms give the same information. The MICR form appears at the bottom left of a check, and consists of 9 digits. The fraction form generally appears in the upper right part of a check near the date and serves as a backup in check processing should the MICR form become illegible. It looks like a fraction, with a numerator and a denominator.
The numerator consists of two parts separated by a dash. The prefix (no longer used in check processing, yet still printed on most checks) is a 1 to 2 digit code indicating the region where the bank is located. The numbers 1 to 49 are cities, assigned by size of the cities in 1910. The numbers 50 to 99 are states, assigned in a rough spatial geographic order, and are used for banks located outside one of the 49 numbered cities. The second part of the numerator (after the dash) is the bank's ABA Institution Identifier, which is also part of the 9 digit routing number. The denominator is also part of the routing number; it's identical to the first four digits of the routing number with any leading zeros removed (i.e. 0212 is written as 212, 0310 written as 310, etc. There might be a fourth element to the ABA number, a branch number to the right of the fraction.
A check from Wachovia Bank in Yardley, PA has a routing number (MICR form) of 021200025 and a fraction of 55-2/212. The prefix (55) no longer has any relevance, but from the remainder of the fraction, the first 8 digits of the routing number (0212-0002) can be determined, and the check digit can be calculated by using the check digit formula or omitted and replaced with the separator dash to makeup for the lost character.
The check can be processed without the check digit so long as the dash is included in the routing number on the MICR line. Either 021200025 or 0212-0002 (both are 9 characters) may be printed in the MICR line as the routing number for the check to be processed correctly, but of course the former is preferred to ensure 100% accuracy. The latter is typically used only when the MICR routing number is destroyed and the fraction must be used to ascertain the routing number.
MICR Routing number format
The MICR routing number consists of 9 digits:
where XXXX is Federal Reserve Routing Symbol, YYYY is ABA Institution Identifier, and C is the Check Digit
Routing symbol
The symbol that delimits a routing transit number is the MICR E-13B transit character (Unicode value U+2446): ⑆
If your computer cannot display this character, it may be seen here.
Number format and standards
The first two digits of the nine digit ABA number must be in the ranges 00 through 12, 21 through 32, 61 through 72, or 80.
The digits are assigned as follows:
- 00 is used by the United States Government
- 01 through 12 are the "normal" routing numbers (For example, 0260-0959-3 is the routing number for Bank of America incoming wires in New York)
- 21 through 32 were assigned only to thrift institutions (e.g. credit unions and savings banks) through 1985; currently they are still used by the thrift institutions, or their successors (For example, 2260-7352-3 is the routing number for Grand Adirondack Federal Credit Union in New York)
- 61 through 72 are special purpose routing numbers designated for use by non-bank payment processors and clearinghouses and are termed Electronic Transaction Identifiers (ETIs).
- 80 is used for traveler's cheques
The first two digits correspond to the 12 Federal Reserve Banks as follows:
Internal checksums
The number must pass a checksum test using a position-weighted sum of each of the digits.
- The following condition must hold:
As an example, consider 111000025 (which is a valid routing number of Bank of America in Texas). Applying the formula, we get:
The following formula can be used to generate the 9th digit in the checksum:
Following the above example for the Texas Bank of America routing number 111000025,
Canadian transit number
Canadian transit numbers are regulated by the Canadian Payments Association. A number has the following form:
where XXXXX is a Branch Number, and YYY is an Institution Number. The dash between the branch number and the institution number is an integral part of the transit number. This format is only valid for paper-type transactions such as cheques. For Electronic Fund Transactions (EFT) the current format is a leading zero, the institution number, then the branch number all with no dashes. For example if a check reads XXXXX-YYY , the corresponding EFT code would be 0YYYXXXXX.
As a general rule, Bank institution numbers start with 0, 2, 3, or 6, Credit Union and Caisse Populaire institution numbers start with 8, and Trust Company institution numbers with 5.
Examples:
- XXXXX-001 Bank of Montreal
- XXXXX-002 Bank of Nova Scotia
- XXXXX-003 Royal Bank of Canada
- XXXXX-004 Toronto-Dominion Bank (which is the legal name for the bank, although it operates as TD Canada Trust)
- XXXXX-006 National Bank of Canada
- XXXXX-010 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (includes President's Choice Financial)
- XXXXX-016 HSBC Canada
- XXXXX-030 Canadian Western Bank
- XXXXX-039 Laurentian Bank of Canada
- XXXXX-117 Government of Canada ( Not listed as a member of the Canadian Payments Association )
- XXXXX-127 Canada Post (money orders)
- XXXXX-177 Bank of Canada (Canadian central bank)
- XXXXX-219 ATB Financial
- XXXXX-260 Citibank Canada
- XXXXX-290 UBS Bank (Canada)
- XXXXX-308 Bank of China (Canada)
- XXXXX-309 Citizens Bank of Canada (Canada)
- XXXXX-326 President's Choice Financial (no longer assigned, now shares XXXXX-010 code with CIBC)
- XXXXX-338 Canadian Tire Bank
- XXXXX-340 ICICI Bank Canada
- XXXXX-509 Canada Trust (prior to the merger of TD & Canada Trust)
- XXXXX-540 Manulife Bank
- XXXXX-614 ING Direct Canada
- XXXXX-809 - BC Region]
- XXXXX-815 Caisses Desjardins du Québec
- XXXXX-819 Caisses populaires Desjardins du Manitoba
- XXXXX-828 - ON Region]
- XXXXX-829 Caisses populaires Desjardins de l'Ontario
- XXXXX-837 Meridian Credit Union (formerly Hepco)
- XXXXX-839 Credit Union Heritage (Nova Scotia)
- XXXXX-865 Caisses populaires Desjardins acadiennes
- XXXXX-879 Credit Union Central of Manitoba
- XXXXX-889 Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan
- XXXXX-899 Credit Union Central Alberta
- XXXXX-900 ?
In a Canadian bank transit number, the last digit of the branch number, with few exceptions, indicates the geographical location of the branch.
Branch numbers ending with:
- 0 are located in British Columbia and Yukon
- 1 are located in Western Québec including Montreal and surrounding areas
- 2 are located in Ontario including Toronto and surrounding area
- 3 are located in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland excluding Labrador
- 4 are located in New Brunswick
- 5 are located in Eastern Québec including Labrador
- 6 are located in Eastern Ontario including Ottawa and surrounding area
- 7 are located in Manitoba and North-Western Ontario
- 8 are located in Saskatchewan
- 9 are located in Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (?)
For example, the number 5887 6 -004 indicates that the associated account is held at an Eastern Ontario branch of The Toronto-Dominion Bank (5887 6 is the branch number, and 004 is the institution number).
Please see http://www.cdnpay.ca/rules/pdfs_rules/rule_d4.pdf for a listing of current and historical financial institution ID numbers.
See also
General Category
- Bank code
- Sort code
- International Bank Account Number
- ISO 9362, the SWIFT/BIC code standard
- Bank State Branch, or BSB code used for Australian banks
Canada has similar but different transaction routing structures
- Large Value Transfer System (Canada)
- Interac
References
- ^ Accuity also registers SWIFT codes
- ^ http://www.bankersonline.com/articles/bhv14n01/bhv14n01a9.html
Blawg Directory - ABA Journal
The ABA Journal is read by half of the nation's 1 million lawyers every month. It covers the trends, people and finances of the legal profession from Wall Street to Main Street to ...
ABA Member Directory USAGE AGREEMENT
This online member and leadership directory provides valuable information on the membership of the American Bar Association. It also provides information on the various committees ...
ABA: ABA Bookseller Member Directory
Only members with a website: Accepts ABA Gift Cards:
ABA: Member Directories
ABA Bookseller Member Directory A searchable directory of the bookseller members of the American Booksellers Association. Browse by location, or search the database.
Lawyer Referral Directory - ABA
ABA Standing Committee on Lawyer Referral and Information Service
ABA Directory an online directory of ABA service providers
ABA Directory is an online directory of Behavior Analysis Service Providers
ABA Board & Staff | About the American Birding Association | American ...
ABA Board of Directors and Staff. American Birding Association, Inc. 4945 N 30th St, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80919 phone: (800) 850-2473/(719) 578-9703 / fax: (719) 578 ...
About ABA: ABA Supplier Directory
ABA Bank Supplier Direcit ... ABA Supplier Directory: Advertising Opportunities. Increase your exposure and enhance your company listing with banner ads and your corporate logo!
bankmarketing: ABA Bank Marketing Services Directory
Services Directory Listing Rates ABA Bank Marketing Back to ABA Bank Marketing | Past Issues | Send Comments | Subscribe/Order Past Issues | 2010 Editorial Calendar | Article Index ...
Oregon Law :: ADR Center :: American Bar Association Directory
Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Center; About Us; Curriculum; Our Faculty; Our Staff; News & Events; Appropriate Dispute Resolution / Environmental and Natural Resource Law