Every day, fraudsters target businesses just like yours.
From check washing and altered payments to unauthorized ACH transactions and email scams, these attacks can lead to lost revenue, disrupted operations, and time-consuming recovery efforts. With fraud on the rise, taking proactive steps to protect your accounts isn’t optional, it’s essential. Learn how Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Positive Pay solutions can safeguard your business before fraud strikes.
Check & ACH Positive Pay are like insurance.
It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Our Positive Pay Solutions for business and commercial accounts are among the strongest and most immediate controls available to:
- Significantly reduce the risk of check and ACH fraud
- Provide greater control and visibility over payments cleared
- Help detect fraudulent activity early, potentially avoiding financial loss
- Prevent business disruptions due to fraud
Talk to our Treasury Management Specialist about protecting your business!
Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Positive Pay Solutions
Our Positive Pay Solutions are designed to safeguard against unauthorized ACH or check transactions and other check fraud. Learn more about our solutions below.
Check Positive Pay operates by verifying each check presented for payment against a list of checks issued by your company (a.k.a an issuance file). This issuance list or file includes essential details such as check number, account number, dollar amount, and payee.
Payee Positive Pay will also inspect the check image presented and compare the payee name provided on your issuance file with the payee on the check image. Any discrepancy flags the check as potentially fraudulent, prompting alerts to be sent for further action. This process significantly diminishes the risk of check fraud and losses that can almost never be collected.
Reverse Positive Pay presents a report of checks that are clearing the account to verify the check image against your records.
ACH Positive Pay allows you to set parameters to control which ACH debits and credits post to your accounts. Similar to its check counterpart, ACH Positive Pay flags transactions not meeting the established criteria, enabling you to review and decide on the legitimacy of these transactions.
Start Protecting Your Accounts with Positive Pay
Get in touch with Crystal Robinson
Protect Your Funds. Protect Your Business.
80% of businesses were victims of payments fraud attacks or attempts in 2023, according to the 2024 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report. With a significant increase in payment fraud attacks each year, the security of commercial accounts is more crucial than ever.
To maintain the integrity of your transactions and protect your assets, we’ve compiled a list of best practices designed to keep your commercial account secure.
- Use ACH and Check Positive Pay on all accounts.
- Send in your check issuance files in a timely manner for Check Positive Pay.
- Consider Dual control for all transaction management.
- Review all ACH and Check Positive Pay exceptions daily.
- Reconcile accounts daily.
- Use a P.O. Box or locked mailbox for receipt of all mail.
- Do not send disbursement checks in the USPS blue mailboxes or other unsecured drop boxes.
- Educate employees on cyber-attacks and business email compromise scams.
- Review insurance policies for cyber security and other loss protection.
- Limit processing, storing, and transmission of bank accounts and card numbers.
- Control access to accounts and information, and use dual approval for all disbursements.
- Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all money movement activities.
- Do not update vendor information for payment without an out-of-band verification using a known and validated source.
- Maintain secure computer access.
- Secure your network and online banking system and update passwords regularly.
- Maintain backups to the network and review backups to ensure correct.
Additionally, should fraud occur, we’ve outlined clear and effective steps to take immediately to mitigate damage and address any vulnerabilities.
- Keep the incident discreet in the event it was an employee committing internal fraud.
- Contact your Treasury Client Support to report fraud.
- Contact the insurance company.
- Review all accounts and activity to determine all transactions have been identified.
- Contact local authorities or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or Secret Service.
- If check stock is stolen or lost, place stop payments on all checks within the affected check stock range.
- Contact your Treasury Client Support to enroll in ACH and Check Positive Pay with payee validation if not in place.
