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BTIF

Bank Telecommunications Image Format

image/prs.btif Released 1998 · by NationsBank (Bank of America) / Ben Simon

The image/prs.btif MIME type represents the BTIF (Bank Telecommunications Image Format) file, originally developed by NationsBank (now Bank of America) in the late 1990s. It was designed to store and transmit scanned check image data alongside transaction metadata. The 'prs' prefix indicates it is officially registered in the IANA Personal or Vanity tree.

Legacy & Archival Production Ready

Technical Specifications

MIME Type
image/prs.btif
Extensions
.btif.btf
Container
Proprietary Check Image Container
Compression
Lossy (JPEG-based) & Lossless (TIFF-based)
Algorithms
JPEGTIFF-variant
Color Depth
1-bit (B&W), 8-bit (Grayscale)
Metadata
None
Capabilities
Transparency
Animation
Progressive Loading
Alpha Channel
HDR Support

Magic Bytes & HTTP Headers

File Signature (Magic Bytes)
Unknown (Proprietary container)
ASCII: Unknown
HTTP Headers
Content-Type: image/prs.btif
HTML Accept Attribute
accept="image/prs.btif, .btif"

Browser Support Matrix

Browser Status Min Version
Chrome Chrome
Not Supported
Firefox Firefox
Not Supported
Safari Safari
Not Supported
Edge Edge
Not Supported
Internet Explorer Internet Explorer
Not Supported Legacy

Advantages & Limitations

Advantages
  • Allowed early digital archiving and web-based transmission of cleared bank checks
  • Encapsulated both image data and ASCII transaction metadata in a single file
Limitations
  • Completely proprietary and obsolete format
  • Lacks native support in modern operating systems and image viewers
  • Requires legacy plugins or specialized bio-format readers (like ImageC) to decode

Developer Code Snippets

import magic
print(magic.from_file('check.btif', mime=True)) # Will likely default to 'application/octet-stream' due to lack of magic byte rules
const FileType = require('file-type');
const type = await FileType.fromFile('check.btif');
console.log(type?.mime); // Standard parsers will not recognize BTIF files
import "net/http"
// The standard net/http library cannot detect BTIF files. You must rely on the file extension mapping.
$mime = mime_content_type('check.btif');
echo $mime; // Standard server environments will map this to application/octet-stream

File Detection Steps

How to programmatically detect a image/prs.btif file by reading its raw bytes:

  1. 1 Rely primarily on the .btif or .btf file extension, as the internal magic bytes are not part of standard open-source magic databases

Software Support

N
NationsBank Check Viewer (Legacy)
I
ImageC (Bio-Formats)

Conversion Tools

Share & Embed

Markdown Badge
BTIF Format Badge
[![BTIF Format](https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/btif/badge.svg)](https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/btif)
Interactive iframe Widget
<iframe src="https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/btif/embed" width="100%" height="280" style="border:1px solid #cbd5e1;border-radius:8px;" title="BTIF Specs"></iframe>

JSON API

All data on this page is available as a free, open JSON API. Use it in your project, documentation, or tooling.

GET https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/btif.json Open JSON
Free to use
No auth required
CORS enabled
Use from any domain
Cached 24h
Cache-Control headers set

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a BTIF file?

A BTIF (Bank Telecommunications Image Format) file is a legacy format used by financial institutions, primarily NationsBank (now Bank of America), to store scanned images of checks along with associated metadata (like clearance dates and account details).

What does the 'prs' stand for in image/prs.btif?

In IANA MIME type specifications, 'prs' stands for 'Personal or Vanity tree'. It is used for formats that are not standardized by a recognized standards body, but rather registered by individuals or specific companies for their own software ecosystems.

Are BTIF files supported in modern web browsers?

No. Originally, viewing these files required a proprietary NationsBank Check Viewing plugin on Windows. Modern web browsers do not natively support the BTIF image format.

Related Formats

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