In the weeks after 9/11 planes were grounded meaning checks were not transported in the timely manner people were used to.

To prevent this breakdown of an at the time critical system of payment, this act was proposed and passed.

At the item processing center, the checks are sorted by machine according to the routing/transit (RT) number as presented by the magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) line, and scanned to produce a digital image.

A batch file is generated and sent to the Federal Reserve Bank or presentment point for settlement or image replacement.

[citation needed] Check 21 has also spawned a new bank treasury management product known as remote deposit.

[citation needed] There are a number of patents relating to "check back collection systems",[3] including some owned by DataTreasury.