Question 16. - The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently held that the fact that a bank depositor had procured a rubber stamp which made a facsimile of his signature, was insufficient ground for charging him with a cheque on which his signature was forged by a clerk who used the stamp for the purpose.

Has a bank any right to refuse payment of cheques signed with a rubber stamp, having been instructed by the customer to pay such cheques? What protection has the bank against the danger of the stamp being used by an unauthorized party?

Answer. - If a bank consents to continue to keep the accounts of a customer who instructs it to pay cheques signed with a stamped signature, it cannot refuse to pay the cheques so signed, if otherwise in order.

As regards protection against the unauthorized use of the stamp, a bank would act very unwisely if it should oblige itself to accept such stamped signatures unless it had a contract with the customer that by whomsoever affixed, it should be regarded as his signature.