What Is Check Positive Pay and How Can It Help Reduce Fraud?
Even though banking technology has reduced the necessity for paper checks, check fraud is still on the rise. Check Positive Pay can help by matching data on checks you issue such as the amount, check number, and payee to a list you provide with information about the checks you’ve originated. When an issued check is presented for payment and there is a data mismatch, you can review and decision the item before it is paid to reduce possible fraud.
As with many banking products and services, there can be different levels of efficiency and effectiveness depending on what your bank offers. When it comes to Positive Pay, how would you evaluate the solution you currently use: good, better, or best?
A good solution helps reduce manual tasks. Through shared file formats with your accounting software, you can auto-generate multiple association check data into a single file upload for bank matching. This reduces manual tasks and human error.
A better solution helps increase efficiencies. Your software can bundle your Positive Pay files into a single file. It automates the secure data delivery for bank processing using a nightly batch. This increases efficiency by eliminating the need to toggle between two systems to manually upload a file.
There is also a best-in-class solution with API integrations and more options. Instead of bundling check data and sending it nightly, receiving check data in real time each time a check is issued within your software is the ideal scenario. Payees can cash your check the same day without concern over missing Positive Pay information.
Pacific Premier Bank offers this best-in-class Check Positive Pay solution as well as ACH Positive Pay to help detect fraudulent ACH transactions and Payee Positive Pay to verify payee names. These additional products give community associations more robust fraud prevention options.
More integrations and efficiency along with real-time data could be the best solution for you to help mitigate fraud risk. To find out how Pacific Premier’s community association banking experts can help your organization, visit PPBI.com/HOA or call 800. 646.9958 for more information.
Alicia Granados is the senior vice president and national sales manager of community association banking at Pacific Premier Bank and is a past president and treasurer of the CAI Rocky Mountain Chapter.