1. New Cheque Standards! Effective January 1st, 2007 What do you need to know?

2. Ø All Canadian business cheques should conform with the new specifications as outlined in CPA Standard, Part A by December 31, 2006.

3. Why did the standards change? Ø The cheque face and back will now be digitally scanned by the clearing houses § Cheques will no longer be physically transferred between banks or returned to clients § To allow for the scanning process, CPA mandated “Areas of Interest” must meet certain standards 1 2 3 4 5 6 1.“Pay To” Information Field 2.“Numeric Date” Field 3.“Amount” Field - Written/Numerical 4.MICR Numbering - Consecutive/Static 5.Signature(s) 6.Backprinting

4. What’s Changed? Ø No printing in 5/8 MICR band Ø Adoption of numeric date field Ø A pre-printed $ symbol must appear - ( preprinted or software driven ) Ø Mandatory MICR consecutive numbering Ø Standardized positions for key information

5. What’s Changed? Ø Security features not to interfere with “Areas of Interest” Ø Standardized back print Ø Print contrast signal in “Areas of Interest” must meet acceptable levels of compliance

6. What do you need to do? Ø If you are using printed cheque forms of your own design, make sure they are compliant well before December 31, 2006. Then, call or email eWholesale Support for quote to have these forms customized. Ø If you are using eWholesale’s Nebs standard cheque forms, order your compliant forms before December 31, 2006. You will soon receive the new forms, with instructions on how to install and activate them

7. Thank You