High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, or MICR, is a character recognition technology used primarily by the banking industry to facilitate the processing of cheques. The technology allows computers to read information (such as account numbers) off of printed documents. Unlike barcodes or similar technologies, however, MICR codes can be easily read by humans. MICR characters are printed in special typefaces with a magnetic ink or toner, usually containing iron oxide.