Why Your Bank Statement Doesn't Show Check Payees

Bank statements typically show only the check number, amount, and date - not the payee name. This limitation stems from federal banking regulations that don’t require banks to include check images on statements, forcing bookkeepers to manually download check images one by one from online banking portals.

For tax preparers and bookkeepers categorizing client transactions, this missing payee information creates a substantial bottleneck. With 61% of Americans still writing checks¹ and 75% of companies using paper checks for business payments², the time cost of hunting down check images quickly compounds across dozens of clients.

Conto automates check image extraction from bank statements and online portals, pulling payee information directly from check images and attaching it to transaction records - eliminating the manual download-and-match workflow that bookkeepers typically face.

Table of Contents

• What Information Your Bank Statement Actually Shows
• Why Bookkeepers Need Check Payee Information
• The Check 21 Act: Why Banks Don’t Include Check Images
• Bank-by-Bank Check Image Policies
  • Banks That Auto-Include Check Images
  • Banks Requiring Special Requests
• How to Download Check Images Manually
• The Time Cost of Manual Check Image Downloads
• Automated Solutions for Check Image Processing

What Information Your Bank Statement Actually Shows

Bank statements display three core check details: check number, transaction amount, and posting date, but federal banking regulations don’t require banks to include payee names or check images.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “Banks and credit unions are generally not required by law to return canceled checks or check images,” though “your monthly statement will usually contain the check number, amount, and date of payment for each check you wrote.”³

This means a typical statement line for a check transaction looks like this:

• Check #1234 - $850.00 - Posted: 10/15/2025

Missing: Who received the $850 payment.

For personal banking, this limitation is manageable - account holders usually remember who they paid. For bookkeepers managing 20-50 client accounts during tax season, this becomes a categorization nightmare. Was check #1234 for contractor labor, office supplies, or a vendor payment? The statement doesn’t say.

Why Bookkeepers Need Check Payee Information

Bookkeepers need check payee information to correctly categorize expenses, verify vendor payments, and create audit-ready financial records for tax preparation.

Without payee data visible on the bank statement, bookkeepers face three problems:

1. Transaction categorization guesswork A $500 check could be rent, a contractor payment, or supplies. The amount alone doesn’t tell you the GL account code. Bookkeepers resort to calling clients: “Who did you pay $500 to on October 3rd?”

2. Vendor reconciliation delays Matching payments to vendor invoices requires knowing who was paid. When statements omit payees, bookkeepers must cross-reference check numbers with client check registers - if those registers exist and are accurate.

3. Audit trail gaps IRS audits require proof of payment to specific vendors. A bank statement showing “Check #1234 - $2,000” without a payee doesn’t satisfy substantiation requirements. The check image itself becomes the necessary documentation.

4. Fraud detection Check images reveal altered payees and amounts that bank statements cannot show. With check fraud losses exceeding $24 billion annually, reviewing the actual check image helps accountants spot washed or altered checks before losses compound.

For accounting firms managing document workflows, this problem scales across dozens of clients. A tax practice with 50 business clients averaging 30 checks per month faces 1,500 check images to track down manually - just to categorize transactions the bank statement should already identify.

The Check 21 Act: Why Banks Don’t Include Check Images

The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21), enacted in 2004, allows banks to process checks electronically using images instead of transporting physical paper checks, but it doesn’t require banks to provide those images to customers on monthly statements.

Before Check 21, banks physically transported paper checks between institutions for clearing. A check written in California and deposited in New York would physically travel cross-country. Banks returned these “canceled checks” with monthly statements as proof of payment.

Check 21 changed the system:⁴

• Check truncation: Banks can stop the physical check’s movement and create digital images
• Image exchange: Banks exchange electronic check images instead of paper
• Substitute checks: Banks can create a legal paper copy from the digital image if needed
• Faster clearing: Electronic processing reduces check clearing time from days to hours

The law modernized check processing but created a new problem for account holders: banks now can keep the physical check and only provide digital access to images - typically through online banking portals.

Banks must retain check images for up to 7 years for regulatory compliance, but they’re not required to automatically include those images on monthly statements.

This leaves bookkeepers with a new workflow: log into each client’s bank portal, navigate to the check images section, download images individually, and match them to transaction lines on statements.

Bank-by-Bank Check Image Policies

Check image availability varies significantly by bank, with some institutions including images automatically on statements while others require special requests or charge monthly fees.

Banks That Auto-Include Check Images

These banks automatically include check images with online statements (no special request required):⁵

• Bank of America: Images included automatically with paperless eStatements
• Regions Bank: Check images on statements by default
• Citi: Automatic inclusion for online statement users
• Citizens Bank: Check images included on online statements
• Fifth Third Bank: Auto-included with eStatements
• Huntington Bank: Check images on online statements
• Navy Federal Credit Union: Images included automatically
• U.S. Bank: Check images with paperless documents

Banks Requiring Special Requests

These banks require customers to specifically request check images on statements:

• TD Bank: Special request required
• Truist: Must opt-in for check images
• Wells Fargo: Requires special request, additional fees may apply⁶

Note: Even banks that support check images can only display them if the images are available in the statement feed from the bank’s core system. Some business account types or check volume thresholds may exclude automatic image inclusion.

Download Access Window

Most banks provide online access to check images for 18 months, though regulatory requirements mandate 7-year retention.⁷

• Bank of America: 18 months online access
• Wells Fargo: 18 months through online banking
• U.S. Bank: Images available through online/mobile banking
• Chase: Check images via Customer Center search

After the 18-month window, customers typically must request archived check images (often for a fee).

How to Download Check Images Manually

Downloading check images manually requires logging into each bank’s online portal, navigating to account activity, locating the specific check transaction, and downloading the image file individually for each check.

The typical manual process:⁸

1. Log into online banking Navigate to the specific account (checking account for the client).

2. Go to account activity or transactions Find the check transaction by check number or date.

3. Click the check icon or “View image” link Bank portals typically show a small check icon next to check transactions.

4. View and download the image Images appear as JPG or PDF files. Save to your local system.

5. Match image to transaction Cross-reference the downloaded image to the transaction line on the bank statement CSV or PDF.

6. Extract payee information Read the payee line from the check image and enter it into your bookkeeping system.

7. Repeat for every check A client with 30 checks per month = 30 individual downloads and data entry tasks.

This workflow is manageable for one or two checks. For bookkeepers handling multiple clients with heavy check usage, the time cost becomes substantial.

The Time Cost of Manual Check Image Downloads

Manual check image downloads consume 2-3 minutes per check on average, resulting in 60-90 minutes of processing time per 30-check batch when accounting for portal login, image location, download, and payee data entry.

Time breakdown for a single check:

• Portal login: 15-30 seconds (if not already logged in)
• Navigate to account activity: 10-15 seconds
• Locate specific check transaction: 20-30 seconds
• Click and view image: 5-10 seconds
• Download image file: 5-10 seconds
• Open image and read payee: 15-20 seconds
• Enter payee data into bookkeeping system: 30-45 seconds
• Total: 1.5-3 minutes per check

For a client writing 30 checks per month:

• 30 checks × 2.5 minutes = 75 minutes (~1.25 hours)

For a tax practice managing 20 business clients:

• 20 clients × 30 checks × 2.5 minutes = 1,500 minutes (~25 hours per month)

This assumes clients write checks at a consistent rate. Construction firms, property managers, and businesses that still rely heavily on checks often write 50-100+ checks per month, doubling or tripling this time burden.

The time cost doesn’t include edge cases that further slow the process:

• Portal timeouts requiring re-login
• Check images not loading (requiring refresh)
• Check images showing front only (missing endorsement)
• Handwritten checks with poor OCR recognition (64% accuracy on cursive)
• Multiple bank portals for clients with accounts at different institutions

Automation eliminates these steps entirely.

Automated Solutions for Check Image Processing

Automated check image processing tools connect directly to bank accounts via API or portal scraping to bulk-download check images, extract payee information using OCR, and attach the data to corresponding transaction records without manual intervention.

Conto automates this workflow by:

1. Connecting to client bank accounts Secure read-only access to online banking portals (similar to tools like Plaid or Yodlee for account aggregation).

2. Identifying check transactions Automatically detects which transactions on bank statements are checks (vs. ACH, wire, debit card).

3. Bulk-downloading check images Pulls all available check images from the bank portal in a single batch operation.

4. Extracting payee information via OCR Uses OCR to read the “Pay to the Order of” line from check images, with 99%+ accuracy on printed checks.

5. Matching images to transactions Links each check image to its corresponding transaction line on the bank statement by check number and amount.

6. Categorizing transactions Applies client-specific rules to auto-categorize checks based on payee (e.g., all checks to “ABC Construction” → Contractor Expense).

7. Exporting coded transactions Provides a complete transaction file with payee data and GL codes ready for import into QuickBooks, Xero, or tax software.

This reduces the 75-minute manual workflow (per 30-check client) to under 5 minutes of review time.

For bookkeepers and tax preparers managing multiple clients, automation handles check images alongside bank statement processing, consolidating what used to be separate manual tasks into a single automated pipeline.

Get started with Conto’s check image automation

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I request check images from my bank if they’re not on my statement? Yes. Most banks allow you to download check images through online banking for up to 18 months. After that window, you may need to request archived images (often for a fee).

Are check images legally valid for tax purposes? Yes. Check images are generally accepted as valid proof of payment by the IRS, courts, and merchants. Banks create substitute checks from images under Check 21, which have the same legal status as original checks.

Do all banks charge for check images? No. Many banks (like Bank of America, Regions, and U.S. Bank) include check images automatically with online statements at no extra charge. Some banks (like Wells Fargo) may charge fees for including images on statements but offer free online access.

How long do banks keep check images? Banks must retain check images for up to 7 years for regulatory compliance, but online customer access is typically limited to 18 months. Older images can usually be requested (sometimes for a fee).

Can I automate check image downloads? Yes. Tools like Conto connect to bank portals to bulk-download check images, extract payee information via OCR, and match the data to transaction records automatically.

Why doesn’t my bank statement show who I paid? Federal banking regulations don’t require banks to include payee names or check images on statements - only the check number, amount, and date. Banks must provide access to check images (usually through online banking), but automatic inclusion on statements is optional.