A system and method to conduct secure electronic financial transactions are provided. The method includes receiving a request, from a user, to perform a transaction with a merchant; generating a virtual check comprising a checking account number, a bank routing number, and a date; displaying the virtual check on at least one of a display of an electronic device of a user or the merchant; receiving input from the user corresponding to at least one of a plurality of check fields; automatically generating meta data, in real-time, on the virtual check, wherein the meta data comprises a location of check creation and a time of check creation; embedding, in the image of the virtual check, at least part of the meta data; populating the virtual check based on the received input; and depositing the virtual check; wherein generating a virtual check comprising scanning a front side of a physical check of a user, detecting a typical check template for a type of check based on proportions, generating a backside of the virtual check; and combining the image of the front side of the physical check with the image of the backside of the virtual check.