Cheque image redaction takes personal data out of a scanned negotiable instrument. UK GDPR and the DPA 2018 limit how a bank shares holder data. anonym.plus reads the scan with local OCR, then marks each field on your device while the rest of the picture stays.
When this applies
A scanned instrument shows the drawer, the payee, the amount, and the MICR sort-code line. You must hide those before the picture goes to a vendor.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the scanned image in anonym.plus on your device.
- Local OCR (Tesseract) reads the printed and MICR lines.
- It flags drawer, payee, account, and sort-code data.
- Confirm the flags on faint or skewed scans.
- Black out the confirmed fields on the picture.
- Save the clean copy locally.
What you need to provide
- The instrument (scan or PDF).
- An operator (Redact suits a scanned image).
- Optional batch of up to 20 files per run.
PII & financial identifiers detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | drawer L. Park → [DRAWER] |
| Names | PERSON | pay to J. Reyes → [PAYEE] |
| Financial | UK_SORT_CODE | MICR 60-16-13 → [SORT_CODE] |
| Financial | UK_BANK_NUMBER | MICR 31926819 → [ACCOUNT] |
| Money | MONEY | £1,250.00 → [AMOUNT] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | dated 03/2026 → [DATE] |
Compliance achieved
- Limits sharing of holder data under UK GDPR & DPA 2018.
- Local OCR reads the MICR and handwritten lines on the scan.
- Offline work keeps the instrument off any server.
Anonymise cheque images offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
OCR on a faint or handwritten instrument can miss a digit, so verify the sort-code and account fields after the pass. A handwritten mark may also need a manual Redact box.
Frequently asked questions
Can the tool read the MICR line?
Yes. Local OCR reads the printed MICR line, then flags the sort code and account number so you can black them out.
Will the handwritten signature be hidden?
Flag and Redact it with a box. Handwriting is a picture, so draw the box to remove those pixels.
Is the scanned image sent anywhere?
No. The desktop app runs locally, so the picture stays on your device.