I thought Massachusetts and New York have a law that states a bank must return customers cancelled checks if requested?
Yes, but we have been advised that federal law, specifically Check 21, supersedes state and local regulations. In addition, as the banking industry moves further to image exchange, there will be fewer paper checks available for return. If you currently receive cancelled checks, some of your checks may be substitute checks. Sovereign will be passing on to you what we receive from other banks, whether that is an original check or a substitute check. However, Sovereign provides, at no cost to you, full image statement, where a copy of each paid check image is enclosed with your monthly statement. That way, you will always have proof of payment for your records, but won’t need to continue storing cancelled checks.
