Abstract: In commercial transactions, settlement is conventionally made by cash and by checks drawn on a current account in a bank, etc. Users of such checking system enjoy its advantages. From the standpoint of banking business, however, such system involves a vast amont of complicated clerical procedures, and a number of negotiation checks pose a bottleneck in rationalizing the banking business. According to the present invention, there is provided a safe and secure check negotiating system which enables checks to be cashed with a minimum manual handling once check has been received by a financial institution such as a bank. The present invention also aims to provide a novel check card and an apparatus for drawing check cards to prevent illicit use of such a card when lost or stolen.