What Is A Bank Routing Number & How Do You Find It?

Employees that want to have their pay deposited directly into their bank accounts instead of receiving paper checks can sign up for direct deposit. The direct deposit form requires information including bank account number and routing number.

Business owners that process their own payroll will need to be able to identify these numbers when signing up employees for direct deposit.

Other direct deposit forms, such as those required for Social Security or other government benefits, also require a bank routing number.

If you apply for a small business loan, lenders often give you the option to deposit funds directly into your business checking account. This method is faster and easier than waiting for a paper check to arrive in the mail. When applying for a loan, you’ll be required to provide your routing number, account number, and other information in order to receive your funds.

Your routing number may be required when you file your income tax return. If you owe the IRS, you can pay directly from your bank account. If you’re receiving a refund, you can also request that funds are sent directly to your account.

In either of these cases, you’ll need to give the IRS your bank routing number in order to complete any direct transactions.

If you sign up for automatic payments, you’ll be required to provide your routing number. This allows landlords, lenders, and businesses to be able to find your account and withdraw money as scheduled without requesting your banking information for each payment.

Bank routing numbers were originally created for processing checks, and they are still used for this purpose. Every check written by individuals, businesses, and lenders has the routing number printed on it.

Wire transfers also require your bank routing number in order to be completed.

Services like Venmo, CashApp, or Zelle are designed for peer-to-peer transactions but now offer payment services for small businesses. You will have to provide your bank routing number for transactions completed on these apps.

Budgeting apps for personal or business accounts also require your bank routing number. Providing this (along with your account number) allows these apps to see your transactions. Some apps also offer features like rounding up purchases or withdrawing specific amounts each month to add to your savings account. Adding your routing number ensures these funds are being sent to the correct account.

If you need to move money from your personal account to your business account (or vice versa) or have accounts at different financial institutions, you’ll need to provide your bank routing number for transfers between accounts.

A bank routing number is a unique 9-digit number that identifies a financial institution. It is used to accurately route funds when sending or receiving money with ACH transfers, wire transfers, or checks.

You can find your bank routing number online, by contacting your bank’s customer service department, looking in the bottom left corner of your paper check, or visiting your bank’s website or app.

Bank routing numbers are available publicly, and each number is specific to a bank. It does not identify your specific bank account and therefore does not put your account at risk.