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Positive Pay
Check fraud is no joke. Nearly one third of small businesses in the USA are victims of check fraud and larger businesses are not immune to the problem, either. Paper checks are a prime target for fraudsters and modern technology makes it easier for criminals to alter checks. The consequences of check fraud can be devastating for businesses, including financial losses, reputational damage, and the emotional toll of dealing with fraud.
This is where Positive Pay can help!
Positive Pay is an added security process that helps reduce fraud by validating checks presented to your business account. One of the greatest challenges with mitigating fraud is the timely identification and return of fraudulent items. The sooner a suspicious item is identified, the greater the likelihood of reducing risk and avoiding loss.
Positive Pay automatically matches the items against your issued check* to detect items such as:
- Checks with an altered amount, check number and/or payee
- Duplicate serial numbers
- Voided checks
- Stale dated checks
- Encoding errors
An additional feature of our Positive Pay service is expanded “payee” verification, taking protection to the next level. Going beyond the standard verification of dollar amount, date issued and check number, our Positive Pay solution can verify the payee information against the name provided in the upload file or manually entered data.
*Positive Pay does not verify funds availability (i.e., account balances) when processing checks.
How it Works
Within your BankIowa online banking account portal, you import a CSV formatted file or manually input data with identifying information for each check issued or voided. We then run the checks through Positive Pay. The system compares the check details you provide against checks presented against your account for payment. If the system flags discrepancies with the check compared to the data on file, an exception will be generated for manual review. You review the exception item(s) and decide if you want to pay or return the check(s). This allows you to deny the transaction before the funds ever leave your account.
Cost for Positive Pay
The investment in Positive Pay is a flat rate of $50 per month. This very affordable tool provides more control over your account, giving you additional protection from fraud.
Enrolling in Positive Pay
To find out more, or to enroll in Positive Pay, contact one of our Cash Management Officers.