Bank of First Deposit (BOFD) - The first institution legally chartered or licensed to collect or pay checks deposited by a company or individual, in which a check has been deposited. It is also the institution to which a check would be returned in the even of non-payment, for return to to the depositor. Also referred to as the depositary bank.

Bundle - A subset of a cash letter usually containing 300-400 checks. The dollar amount of the bundle serves as a control total and is listed on the cash letter.

Item - An item is the physical representation of a financial transaction. Examples include checks and related paper objects such as deposit slips or cash out tickets. The monetary amounts of items will be posted in total, or in detail, as in debit or credit to some account in the bank. Items are generally referred to by their type, as for instance, cash items, transit items, on-us items, clearing items, general ledger items, etc.

Payor - The party issuing a check. The payor is also known as the maker or writer.

Presentment - The operational process of moving checks and check related data from a collecting bank to a paying bank.

Return Item - A check returned unpaid by the payor bank. It may be returned to the BOFD directly or through an intermediary.