Bank pass book or statement of account is a copy of the customers account in the books of the bank. The

bank gives to its customers such a pass book or a statement of account. This pass book is supplied by the

bank to its every customer who opens any account. This book records all deposits and withdrawals. The

customer should send this pass-book periodically for entering transaction in it. The pass book is a copy of

customer’s account in the bank’s ledger. It is ruled in such a way that the balance of an account may be

known immediately after each transaction. The bank keeps the customer informed of the entries made in

its book. The customer is expected to compare the pass book with the cash book and to inform the bank

immediately regarding the errors that may have come to his notice.

Passbooks are simple paper books that include pages that are intended for use with simple accounting

notations regarding a bank account. Sometimes referred to as a bank book, the passbook was considered

to be the most common means of keeping up with the current balance in a savings account for many

years. Because the design of the passbook allowed the record to fit easily into a lapel pocket or purse,

taking the passbook along to the bank when making a deposit or withdrawal was an easy process.

The format for the pages in a passbook is very simple. Columns are found on each page that provide

space for entering the date and type of the transaction, the amount of the deposit or withdrawal, and the

adjusted balance in the account. Any interest earned on the bank account would be recorded in the

passbook as a credit to the account, while a withdrawal would be recorded as a debit.

In times past, the account holder was not the one to make notations in the passbook. Instead, the

customer would take the passbook along to the bank when making a deposit or withdrawal. Bank

personnel would record and initial the transaction in the appropriate columns. Some banks had a

procedure that required tellers and other bank officers who handled transactions to also initial the activity

in the passbook. When this was the case, it was not unusual for the pages in pass books issued by the

institution to include a column specifically for this purpose.

While there are banks that still provide a passbook to customers, this practice has diminished

considerably since the advent of the home computer. Today, many banks allow customers to access

account information online, and download the detail into financial accounting software programs. This

allows the customer to still access a bank-generated record of the current balance in the account, including

any interest payments on the balance, eliminating the need for bankbooks altogether.