Postcard bank check

The invention is a bankable apparatus or post card bank check for sending contributions by mail without the use of any letter envelope. The post card bank check carries with it the dollar value of the instrument of such denominations as the issuing banks may determine and as the buyer may choose for the purpose of sending money from the sender to the recipient. The post card check is for deposit only and withdrawable only with the use of the recipient's own bank check making it a safe way to transfer money from donor to recipient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to a bankable apparatus or item for sending small 
amounts of money by mail, particularly to religious and/or non-profit 
organizations that are soliciting donations from the general public. 
2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
The present situation in the United States is that most persons receive in 
their mails a number of solicitations a month for donations from various 
religious and/or non-profit organizations. These lead to a number of 
problems which are: 
(1) For one receiving 10 to 20 solicitations per month, a donation of 
$1.00, $2.00, $5.00, $10.00, or $20.00 per donation would cost a minimum 
of $10.00 to a maximum of $400.00 dollars per month. To one with a 
generous heart, but a very limited means such a person goes through a lot 
of mental anguish each month as he/she tries to determine who gets his/her 
donation and how much. 
(2) After the decision is made as to how many charities and how much each 
gets his/her donation for the month he/she then goes through much hassle. 
He/she must (a) write the name of the charity/church on a personal check, 
(b) sign the check, (c) place the check inside an envelope, (d) lick the 
envelope, (e) close the envelope, (f) buy a postage stamp, (g) lick the 
stamp, and (h) stick the stamp on the envelope. 
The above are not small matters when one is giving to as many as 10 to 20 
charities/churches each month. The postage stamps alone would cost from 
$2.90 to $5.80 each month. There is also the cost of using 10 to 20 
personal checks and the headache of reconciling the checking accounts, 
what with so many checks being issued each month. They are irritating and 
they discourage giving. These problems are real not only to the proponent 
of the instant invention but also to tens of millions of kind-hearted 
charity donors in the U.S. and in all of the advanced countries in the 
world. 
The instant invention of a directly mailable postcard-type check, personal 
or otherwise, significantly minimizes these problems. Also, a reduction in 
postage for checks mailed in envelopes from $0.32 to $0.20 for postcards 
means a savings to the donor of $0.10 per mailed donation. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is a purpose of the invention to provide a directly and 
immediately mailable postcard-type bankable apparatus or item, in the form 
of a bank check--personal or otherwise--for the purpose of sending money 
by mail. 
In carrying out the purpose of the invention in the illustrative embodiment 
thereof, a paper material of such thickness and quality acceptable to the 
Postmaster General of the United States for the granting of a FIRST

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown the blank card stock for the post card 
check designated by the numeral 10. FIG. 2 is the face side of post card 
check 10 when first printed and may be a flat, rectangular item, made of 
any suitable material, and decorated in any manner, and may be of any 
suitable size and dimension, but preferably that of a small mailing 
envelope or that of a regular picture postcard. 
On the check side, or face of each postcard bank check 10, are printed the 
check number 11, the addressees name and address 12, instructions to the 
bank with regards to the addressee 13, the amount of the donation 14, the 
address of the financial institution 15 upon which the check is drawn and 
the account number 16, printed in machine readable language. Also included 
are the date of donation and period of validity 17 of the check 10. A 
detachable stub 18, is provided for record keeping for tax or business 
purposes. A notice 19, limiting negotiability of the check is also 
provided. Instructions 20 are provided for removing the perforated tab 31. 
A signature space 21 is provided for the donor's signature and the date of 
signature. The detachable stub 18 contains space 22 for the donor to 
record the details of the check, a space 23 for the donor to update 
account information after donation, and a perforated edge 24 for detaching 
stub 18. 
On the reverse side of the post card check 10, is the notice 25, signifying 
space for the donor's name and address, a notice 26, to caution the donor, 
not to omit name and address, space 27, for addressee's name and address, 
a space 28 for the addressee's endorsement, and instructions 29, to the 
donor showing where to write a memo and where to leave blank for bank use. 
FIG. 3 shows the face side of the post card check 10, with a removable 
overlay 30, covering the account number 16 for security. The overlay 30 is 
a strip of card stock having an easily removable adhesive to facilitate 
the removal of the overlay 30. The overlay 30 may be placed over and used 
to cover the account number 16 while it is being processed or in mail 
handling. 
At the right hand upper corner of the reverse side of post card check 10 is 
the position for a Postcard stamp or a regular postal marking of a letter 
envelope or postcard for which a FIRST