A passbook or bankbook is a paper book used to record bank or

building society A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Ki ...

transactions on a

deposit account A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained belo ...

Inside a Post Office Savings Bank deposit book

Traditionally, a passbook was used for accounts with a low transaction volume, such as

savings account A savings account is a bank account at a retail bank. Common features include a limited number of withdrawals, a lack of cheque and linked debit card facilities, limited transfer options and the inability to be overdrawn. Traditionally, transa ...

s. A

bank teller A bank teller (often abbreviated to simply teller) is an employee of a bank whose responsibilities include the handling of customer cash and negotiable instruments. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier or customer representative. ...

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

would write the date, amount of the transaction and the updated balance and enter his or her initials by hand. In the late 20th century, small

dot matrix A dot matrix is a 2-dimensional patterned array, used to represent characters, symbols and images. Most types of modern technology use dot matrices for display of information, including mobile phones, televisions, and printers. The system is al ...

or inkjet printers were introduced that were capable of updating the passbook at the account holder's convenience, either at an

automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fund ...

or a passbook printer, either in a self-serve mode, by post, or in a

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' twig'' usuall ...

History

Passbooks appeared in the 18th century, allowing customers to hold transaction information in their own hands for the first time. Until then, transactions were recorded in ledgers at the bank only, so customers had no history of their own deposits and withdrawals. The passbook, which was around the size of a passport, ensured that customers had control over their own information, and was called a "passbook" because it was used as a way to identify the account holder without needing further identification. It also regularly passed between the bank and the account holder for updating. Paying taxes with passbooks (1943)

Usage

Credits and deposits

To add credit to an account by bringing

cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In bookkeeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-im ...

to a bank in person, the account holder can fill a small ''credit slip'' or ''deposit slip''. The total value of notes and coins is counted and entered on the slip, along with the date and the payer's name. The cash and details are counted and checked by the teller at the bank; if everything is in order, the deposit is credited to the account, the ''credit slip'' is then kept by the bank, and the ''credit slip booklet'' is stamped with the date and then returned to the account holder. An account holder uses his passbook to record their history of transactions with his bank.

Debits and withdrawals

Withdrawals normally required the account holder to visit the branch where the account was held, where a ''debit slip'' or ''withdrawal slip'' would be prepared and signed. If the teller did not know the account holder, the signature on the slip and the authorities would be checked against the signature card at the branch, before money was paid out. In the 1980s, banks adopted the black light signature system for passbooks, which enabled withdrawals to be made from passbooks at a branch other than the one where an account was opened, unless prior arrangements were made to transfer the signature card to the other branch. Under this system, the passbook's owner would sign in the back of the passbook in an invisible ink and the signing authorities would also be noted. At the paying branch, the signature on the withdrawal slip would be checked against the signature in the book, which required a special ultraviolet reader to read. Today, the customer is more commonly verified by PIN and commonly through an

Direct banking

For people who feel uneasy with

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

or online banking, the use of a passbook is an alternative to obtain, in real-time, the account activity without waiting for a

bank statement A bank statement is an official summary of financial transactions occurring within a given period for each bank account held by a person or business with a financial institution. Such statements are prepared by the financial institution, are ...

. However, unlike some bank statements, some passbooks offer fewer details, replacing easy-to-understand descriptions with short codes.

Gallery of passbooks

File:Saffron Building Society Passbook.jpg, Saffron Building Society passbook File:Postsparbuch Vorderseite 1984.jpg, German Postsparbuch, cover File:Sparbuch der Deutschen Bundespost 1986, Doppelseite.jpg, German Postsparbuch File:Bank account book, issued by Petty and Postlethwaite for use in Cumbria, UK. 1st entry 1831, last entry in 1870. On display at the British Museum in London.jpg, Bank account book, issued by Petty and Postlethwaite for use in Cumbria, UK. 1st entry 1831, last entry in 1870. On display at the British Museum in London. File:Steitz Savings and Loan Association Mortgage Loan Passbook (1987).jpg, Steitz Savings and Loan Association Mortgage Loan Passbook (1987)

References

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