A bank's routing number is a nine-digit number associated with a particular bank or financial institution, while your account number is distinctively assigned to your account within a bank. You can have multipl♑e accounts a💛t one bank, each with a unique account number but the same routing number.

Your bank's routing number and your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:checking account number are used w♚hen writing a check and sending or receiving an electronic funds transfer. The routing number identifies the bank, w🔯hile the account number identifies the account to be debited or credited within that bank. Discover how your account and routing numbers work and how to locate and use them.

Routing Number vs. Account Number

When you open a bank account, you receive a unique account number and the bank's routing number. You can find both of these at the bottom of paper checks or via your online account. To make many financial transactions, such as 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:setting up a direct deposit or ordering checks online, you will need your bank’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:routing number and your account number.

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Account numbers are like customer IDs or fingerprints specific to each account holder. Accoꦰunt numbers are assigned to indicate precisely where the funds in a transaction originated from (debited) or the final destination for the 𝓀funds (credited).

Similarly, routing numbers identify each 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:banking institution. Routing numbers are nine digits long, and account numbers are usually between nine and 12 digits, although some may be longer.

Routing Number

The routing number is a sequence of nine digits banks use to identify specific financial institutions within the United States. The routing number is also called a routing transit number or ABA routing number, short for the American Bankers Association.

The routing number proves that the bank is a federal- or state-chartered institution and maintains an account with the Federal Reserve. 

A Check's Routing Number

ABA routing numbers were once used with paper checks, and ACH routing numbers were associated with electronic transfers and withdrawals on accounts. However, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:most banks today use one routing number for all transactions.

A check also contains a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:routing symbol in the top corner, usually just below the individual check number. This symbol is usually three or four digits🧸 and also identifies the bank. It is not used much anymore.

Routing Numbers for International Transfers

A different routing number is used for domestic and international 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:wire transfers. In other words, you can not use the routing number listed at the bottom of your checks. Contact your financial institution or check their website for a list of appꩲroved routing numbers for international transfers.ꦐ

How Routing Numbers Are Used

Small banks generally possess just one routing number, while large multinational banks can have severalꩲ different ones, usually based on the state where you hold ♔the account. Routing numbers may be required for the following:

• Reordering checks
• Electronic payments of consumer bills
• Linking your bank account to a mobile payment app
• Establishing direct deposit, such as for your paycheck or Social Security benefits
• 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Tax payments to the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or your local tax office

Account Number

The account number works in conjunction with the routing number. While the routing number identifies the financial institution's name, the account number—usually between eight and 12 digits—identifies your account. If you hold two accounts at the same bank, the routing numbers will usually be the same, but your account numbers will🐈 be diffe𝄹rent.

Anyone can locate a bank's routing number, but your account number is unique to you, so it is important to guard it, just as you would your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Social Security number or PIN code. 

How To Find Your Routing and Account Numbers

You can find your account and routing numbers at the bottom left side of paper checks issued from your checking account. Alternatively, you can often find the routing number when you log into an online banking portal.

Because your financial institution's routing number isn't unique to your account, you can find it online. Just make sure the website you use is the one owned by your bank or credit union.

Routing Number vs. Account Number Example

At the bottom of a check, you will see three sets of numbers. From left to right, the 9-digit routing number typically appears first, the account number second, and the check number listed third. However, those numbers can sometimes appear in a different sequence on a cashier's check.

These series of numbers is embedded with magnetic ink, known as your check’s MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) line. Pronounced "micker," the magnetic ink enables each bank’s processing equipment to read and process ཧthe account information.

The Bottom Line

Your bank's routing number is associated with a particular bank or financial institution, while your account number is associated with only your account within your bank. If you are unsure how to distinguish between your routing and account number, contact your banking institution. Remember to double-check both numbers whenever you provide them to another party to ensure the transaction goes smoothly.