Protecting financial transactions from fraudulent activities is crucial for both small businesses and commercial banking clients. In this quest for security, a powerful tool emerges: Positive Pay.
What is Positive Pay?
Positive Pay is a fraud prevention service that helps protect your business by monitoring check and ACH transactions and flagging anything that doesn’t match your authorized activity.
Instead of reacting after fraud occurs, this fraud prevention service gives you the ability to review and stop suspicious transactions before they’re processed.
How does ACH Positive Pay Work?
ACH Positive Pay allows you to define which electronic transactions are authorized to post to your account.
Here’s how it works:
You decide whether to approve or reject the transaction — giving you greater control over your account activity.
- You’re notified and can review and decide whether to approve or reject the item
- Incoming ACH transactions are flagged as an exception for your review
- You review the details like originators, amounts, and other payment characteristics.
- You can then decide to allow the ACH transaction and add it to a filter that will post future transactions from the same company/originator
- You also have the option to block the ACH transaction one time or all subsequent transactions from the same company.
How does Check Positive Pay Work?
Check Positive Pay helps ensure only checks you’ve issued are paid.
- You submit a file of issued checks, including check number, amount, and payee
- When checks are presented for payment, they are matched against your issued check file
- Any discrepancies — such as altered amounts, fraudulent checks or mismatched check numbers — are flagged as exceptions
- You’re notified and can review and decide whether to approve or reject the item
Why Businesses Use Positive Pay
Enhanced Fraud Prevention: Small businesses often lack the resources to withstand financial losses due to fraud. Positive Pay provides an additional layer of defense, significantly reducing the risk of falling victim to ACH or check fraud schemes.
Peace of Mind: With Positive Pay in place, business owners can rest assured that their financial transactions are being closely monitored. This peace of mind allows them to focus on core business activities without the constant worry of fraudulent attacks.
Cost Savings: The financial repercussions of fraud can be devastating for businesses. Positive Pay helps mitigate these risks, potentially saving thousands of dollars that would otherwise be lost to fraudulent activities.
Improved Efficiency: By automating the process of fraud detection, Positive Pay streamlines operational efficiency for businesses. Instead of manually reviewing every ACH or check, businesses can rely on the system to flag suspicious transactions, saving time and resources.
Take a Proactive Approach to Fraud Prevention
Fraud prevention isn’t just about reacting — it’s about putting safeguards in place before issues arise.
Positive Pay is one way Needham Bank helps protect your business and support your day-to-day operations with confidence.
Get Started
To learn more or enroll your business, contact your Needham Bank Relationship Manager.
Looking for even more ways to stay protected?
Visit our Fraud Prevention Resources for tools, tips, and insights to help you recognize and avoid common scams.
