Blank cheque

A blank cheque or carte blanche (USA: blank check), in the literal sense, is a cheque that has no numerical value written in, but is already signed. In the figurative or metaphoric sense, it is used (especially in politics) to describe a situation in which an agreement has been made that is open-ended or vague, and therefore subject to abuse, or in which a party is willing to consider any expense in the pursuance of their goals.

Literal meaning

Cheque users are normally advised to specify the amount of the cheque before signing it. If created accidentally, a blank cheque can be extremely dangerous for its owner, because whoever obtains the cheque could write in any amount of money, and would be able to cash it (to the extent that the chequing account contains such funds, also depending on the laws in the specific country).

One might give a blank cheque to a trusted agent for the payment of a debt where the writer of the cheque does not know the amount required, and it is not convenient or possible for the writer to enter the amount when it becomes known. In many cases, it is possible to annotate a cheque with a notional limit with a statement such as "amount not to exceed $1000". In theory, the bank should refuse to process a cheque in excess of the stated amount.

Blank cheque (disambiguation)

Blank cheque is a cheque with no numerical value filled in.

Blank cheque or blank check may also refer to:

See also

Blank Check (film)

Blank Check (originally released as Blank Cheque in the United Kingdom) is a 1994 comedy film directed by Rupert Wainwright, starring Brian Bonsall, Karen Duffy, Miguel Ferrer, James Rebhorn, Tone Lōc, Jayne Atkinson and Michael Lerner and was released by Walt Disney Pictures.

Plot

The story begins when convicted bank robber Carl Quigley (Miguel Ferrer) escapes from prison. Soon after his prison break, Quigley enters a warehouse and recovers $1,000,000 he had hidden there sometime before his arrest (although it is unclear exactly how he illegally obtained the money). The film then cuts to 12-year-old Preston Waters (Brian Bonsall), whose father (James Rebhorn) works as an investor for a living and is very frugal with money—so much so that when he is given a blank check from his grandmother for his birthday, his dad fills it out for only $11.00. When invited to Butch's birthday party at an amusement park, Preston doesn't want to go because Butch treats him like a bully than a friend, since his parents were unaware, and he only has enough tokens to go on the kiddie rides.