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What is a Routing Number?

The routing number is the nine-digit num that’s used to identify the bank where your account was opened. This set of numbers is also called RTN, ABA routing number, or a routing transit number. But why do American banks use these numbers?

Back in 1911, the American Bankers Association established the use of this code. Before this 1911, banks could not agree about identification. Because of this, bankers chose a committee for this task. This committee assigned each bank in the country a set of convenient numbers to use. 

The RTN is composed of a prefix and a suffix. The prefixes are the codes that represent the geographical location. Half of the prefixes used by the ABA represent major cities while the other half represent regions in the United States. Meanwhile, the suffix represents the banking firms within those locations. 

ABA vs. ACH Routing Number

The RTN is further classified into two types. The term routing number could refer to either the ABA routing number or the ACH routing number.

ABA stands for American Bakers Association. The ABA routing number is printed on paper cheques and is sometimes referred to as the “check routing number.” 

Meanwhile, ACH stands for Automated Clearing House. The ACH routing number is applicable to electronic transfers and withdrawals. It is also referred to as “electronic routing number” or “number for electronic transfers.”

You might have encountered cases wherein these two routing numbers are used interchangeably by banks. Using the same routing number for both the ABA and ACH is practiced by most major banks today. However, it’s also common to see separate ABA and ACH routing numbers for other banks.

Using the RTN

Because it makes the identification of banks easier, processing of transactions between US banks becomes easier. The reason behind this is that instead of reading the cheque or asking the client to determine the bank name and branch, bank staff and machines can quickly determine this through the routing number. This facilitates the flow of funds from the right bank to another.

You must have your bank routing number memorized because they are needed to perform different types of transactions with any bank. Banks as your routing number together with your account number in these situations:

• Making a payment by phone or online
• Making automatic bill payments
• Wiring transfers
• Setting up of third-party, recurring withdrawals from your bank account
• Processing cheques
• Transferring money internationally

Depending on what type of transaction you are hoping to accomplish, the bank will tell you which type of routing number they need for you. As we have mentioned before, the routing numbers on the cheques might be different from the routing numbers required for electronic transactions. To avoid delays, you can double-check with your bank or look them up online.

Because routing numbers are used to identify a specific bank, you may also use this to search for the bank’s name. To do this, go to the American Bankers Association website and access their ABA routing number lookup tool. Input the routing number on the space provided. This is good news, especially if the cheque has no bank name on it. You can also determine the location of a bank branch by using the routing number and look it up on the bank website.

Before we teach you how to find the routing number on your check, we keep an updated list of bank routing numbers on our website. Check the routing numbers for banks such as Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Union Bank, Bank of America and US Bank.

Determining the RTN

There are several ways to determine your routing number. You can do this by looking at the cheque or looking it up online. We have provided the details below:

• Get your checkbook and look at the nine-digit set of numbers printed on the bottom-left corner of the cheque. If it is in the fraction format, you can find it on the upper-right corner of the cheque next to the date
• If you have an online banking account, you can also check your routing number on that webpage
• Go to the American Banking Association website and access the routing number online lookup. Type in the details that are required to determine the routing number. These details include the financial institution name, city, state, and zip code

If you have your checkbook with you, then you might have noticed that there are three sets of numbers printed on the bottom portion of the cheque. From left to right, the first set has nine digits, the next set has ten or eleven digits, and the last set has four digits.

The first set with nine digits is your routing number. This number could appear in two forms: the fraction form and MICR form. While they technically give the same information, there are slight differences between the two formats.