Fraud Prevention Solutions

Positive Pay is a proactive fraud prevention service that helps businesses monitor and control outgoing payments before funds leave their accounts. In practice, it works differently depending on the payment type, though both operate on a strict verification principle.

For Check Positive Pay, you provide a file of issued checks to the bank. Any check presented for payment is automatically compared to this issue file. With ACH Positive Pay, the system uses rules you specify to monitor incoming debits against an approved list of vendors or parameters. If a check or ACH transaction doesn't match your criteria, it is instantly flagged as an exception, giving you the power to block or return it before unauthorized funds disappear.

The main difference lies in the type of transaction being protected and the verification method. ACH Positive Pay  monitors incoming electronic debit requests by comparing them against preapproved rules, such as specific vendor criteria or dollar limits.

Conversely, Check Positive Pay focuses purely on paper checks. It verifies checks presented for payment against an Excel file of issued items that you upload to the bank. While they verify different payment rails, both systems ultimately flag mismatched items as exceptions for your review. By using them side-by-side, businesses ensure cash flow protection from multiple vulnerabilities.

Check Positive Pay prevents fraud by actively stopping suspicious, altered, or counterfeit checks before they clear the bank. As checks are presented for payment, the bank's system automatically compares them against the issue file you uploaded.

The platform flags a wide variety of mismatches as exceptions. For example, it targets:

• Different or altered payment amounts
• Altered payee names
• Duplicate items
• Check number discrepancies

You can then review these exceptions digitally and make an immediate "pay or return" decision, neutralizing fraud before any funds are officially withdrawn from your account.

When an exception occurs, you receive an automatic notification indicating that a suspect transaction—be it an unrecognized electronic debit or a mismatched check—has been paused.

Once alerted, you log into Business Online Banking through a seamless single sign-on experience to review the flagged item. You look over the details, check it against your records, and decide whether to approve (if it's a legitimate oversight) or return the transaction. This places the final authorizing power into the hands of your administrators rather than relying on reactive reporting later on.

The core difference between the two is timing: ACH Positive Pay is a proactive solution, whereas standard ACH monitoring is entirely reactive.

With standard monitoring, you are reliant on manually reviewing transactions after they have posted to your account. If fraud has occurred, funds may have already been withdrawn before action is taken. In contrast, ACH Positive Pay matches incoming debit requests against preapproved rules before they post. This empowers your business to instantly block or return unauthorized debits upfront, saving significant time, money, and recovery hassle.

Positive Pay is highly recommended for any business that issues an active volume of payments or operates in scenarios where fraud vulnerability is heightened. Specifically, it is ideal for teams that:

• Issue a high volume of checks
• Work continuously with multiple new vendors
• Operate with remote accounting teams where oversight can be difficult
• Need stricter internal auditing and controls

Ultimately, if your organization prefers robust, proactive protection over reactive monitoring and chasing lost funds, Positive Pay is functionally right for you.

Yes, leveraging both Check and ACH Positive Pay together is strongly encouraged as it provides comprehensive protection against both physical and digital fraud threats.

In fact, Central Bank offers a cost-effective bundling solution. When you bundle Check Positive Pay with ACH Positive Pay, your business receives a 25% discount compared to purchasing each capability separately. This unified approach gives accounting departments robust oversight across nearly all methods of funds disbursement.

Positive Pay dramatically strengthens internal controls by standardizing verification procedures and building a structural separation of duties within your treasury operations.

For instance, one set of staff can be assigned to upload Excel files containing issued checks or set ACH transaction boundaries, while dual control systems require an entirely different administrator to submit "pay or return" decisions on exceptions. Central Bank's Positive Pay also brings customizable reporting tools, real-time alerts, and easily scheduled logs right into your Business Online Banking center, preparing you for easier, more transparent internal auditing.