MICR

Full form: Magnetic Ink Character Recognition

Banking

MICR is the 9-digit code printed at the bottom of cheques using magnetic ink, enabling high-speed automated cheque processing by machines. The MICR code identifies the city, bank, and branch. First 3 digits: city code. Next 3: bank code. Last 3: branch code.

In detail

MICR code location: bottom strip of cheque (left portion). Alongside account number and IFSC.nnCity codes examples: Mumbai = 400, Delhi = 110, Chennai = 600, Kolkata = 700, Bangalore = 560nnMICR is used for: cheque clearance in clearing houses, ECS/NACH mandate setup for SIP and loan EMI auto-debit. Even in the UPI era, MICR remains relevant for legacy banking infrastructure and ECS mandates.

Real-life example

🇮🇳 India example

Sunita's cheque shows MICR: 400240001. This tells the clearing house: Mumbai (400) + HDFC Bank (240) + specific branch (001). The automated clearing machine reads this with magnetic sensors and routes the cheque to the correct bank branch's clearing account.

Frequently asked questions

Why is MICR needed when IFSC already identifies the branch? ▼

MICR was developed decades before IFSC and remains embedded in cheque processing infrastructure. It enables physical cheque sorting by machines. IFSC is used for electronic transfers. Both coexist -- MICR for paper cheques, IFSC for digital transfers.