Add news
News Every Day |

Paper Check Fraud’s Weakest Link Is … the Paper Check

Given the chance, most consumers will choose digital payments over paper checks. Yet the check endures, expensive to make and mail and manage, and they often sit uncashed at the back of a drawer for weeks and even months.

And yet, as Rusty Pickering, president and chief operating officer of Ingo Payments, recently observed, there’s no great mystery behind their staying power, even though, when all is said and done, it can cost between $3 to $8 to create a check and ultimately send it on its way.

“Even with all its flaws,” he told Karen Webster, “it’s the only universal payment instrument — universally available to send and to receive. … I don’t need anything more to pay you by check than your name, a physical address,” and the amount of the payment. As to where the stickiness lies: In the post-pandemic age, while it may be true that consumers are writing fewer checks, businesses are in fact still enamored with them, as 80% of firms still process and mail paper checks to other firms, and especially when paying consumers.

But, amid $8 trillion in volume done in pen and ink, and sent via post:

“The weak link in payments is the paper check,” he continued, “because when you stick it in the mail, it’s susceptible to being stolen.”

Check fraud is on the rise, as fraudsters, ever adept at plying multiple schemes at any given time, are pinching checks (especially tax refunds) from mailboxes; stolen check fraud nabbed criminals $668 million last year; fraudsters also counterfeit checks or post the stolen check details to online platforms like Telegram. In other cases, bad actors will “wash out” the payment amount on a check and write in a bigger number, or digitally deposit a check twice, in hopes of double dipping a victim’s (especially a corporate victim’s) coffers.

All told, check fraud is a $24 billion business, up 90% as measured in 2023 from just two years prior. “Check fraud is easy to commit and hard to catch,” Pickering said.

It’s hard to catch precisely because there’s no central repository for checks — no place where banks can go and see if someone’s accepted a specific check before it’s been deposited, thus stopping duplicate fraud in its tracks. Check fraud has to be visibly detected, numbers compared, for forgeries to be detected. The banks, with hundreds of millions of dollars of check-related payment volumes, don’t have the resources to look at all those checks one by one, and so it can be quite some time before fraud is discovered.

Most checks are deposited through ATMs and mobile devices, Pickering said, so there’s a level of anonymity in the mix — a criminal can open an account from virtually anywhere, which adds another level of complexity to fraud defenses.

The key, he said, is to look not only at the person who’s depositing the check — and the account details of the check itself — but to look hard at the device that’s being used to open the account and cash the check.

“You can get a lot of attributes off that device,” Pickering said, “which can indicate whether there’s fraud … including the language, the currencies, the time zone, the geo codes and even the manufacturer of the phone and the data services that’s being used.” If the device is sold and used in Africa, and the check’s being deposited in New Jersey, something’s amiss, as Pickering illustrated.

There’s a business case for turning to third parties like Ingo as FinTechs and banks confront the rising tide of check fraud. Ingo, Pickering said, offers turnkey check-cashing solutions for financial brands such as Regions Bank, ADP, GreenDot and Incomm, as well as directly through the Ingo Money App. In terms of the mechanics, for checks that are accepted and cashed, the funds are guaranteed and stay with the check casher, even if the check is returned or later found to be fraudulent.

Separately, the company leverages artificial intelligence (AI), analytics and its internal investigations team to work with banks to discover fraudsters who might be lurking, even if they were not uncovered at the point of initial account opening.

“We have our own proprietary database of fraudsters,” Pickering said, “and so we can close those things down” in a matter of milliseconds. To do that, he said, scale is critical, as is an AI-driven data model. Ingo also uses inputs from know-your-customer vendors and early warning systems.

Replacing the Check

The ultimate goal of the payments ecosystem may be to replace the paper check — but to do that, Pickering cautioned, it’s imperative to pay anyone the way they want to be paid. We’re moving toward that reality, as banks and FinTechs are able to use data and advanced analytics and extant payment rails to make sure that funds get to the people who are who they say they are.

There’s no universal instrument, as some recipients will want to be paid directly into their bank accounts, others want to be funded directly into debit cards, some opt for PayPal or digital wallets — and yes, still others may opt for that paper check.

“You need the ability to reach out to them as easily as a paper check,” he told Webster, “and to reach out to them through email or a text, to tell them that you want to pay them and then let them choose how they get paid.” Consumers, he added, are willing to pay a fee for the certainty of getting paid, especially those underserved and underbanked households and individuals who live paycheck to paycheck.

“This eliminates the fraud of checks being intercepted,” Pickering said. “It’s a digital experience and it’s more secure — and the person gets paid directly into the account where they want it … and it costs a fraction of what it costs to mail and manage a paper check. It’s a ‘happy path’ where everything happens correctly.”

The post Paper Check Fraud’s Weakest Link Is … the Paper Check appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Москва

Axenix и «КОРУС Консалтинг» объявили о стратегическом партнерстве для реализации проектов на платформе интегрированного планирования In.Plan

Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine

Tesla shares sink as deliveries miss forecasts by 'wide margin': report

Here’s more of what you’ll see through Meta’s $1,000 smart glasses

Will AI ever cure cancer? The multibillion-dollar race to bring the first AI-discovered drug to market

T-Mobile closes Lumos deal after dropping DEI

Ria.city
Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "3 апреля 2024 в г.Колумбус запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...






Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "3 апреля 2024 в г.Колумбус запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...


Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "3 апреля 2024 в г.Колумбус запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...

Read also

Deportations begin today amid ‘deadline extension’ confusion

Watch Jazz ‘Hot’, the Rare 1938 Short Film With Jazz Legend Django Reinhardt

‘It’s what she always wanted’ – The love story and heartbreaking tale of Grand National horse Nick Rockett

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

Hyundai’s Insteroid is an EV one-off for gamers

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

Hyundai’s Insteroid is an EV one-off for gamers



Sports today


Новости тенниса
Дарья Касаткина

Собчак не видит причин осуждать Касаткину за смену гражданства



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Собянин: В Москве утвердили планы развития жилых кварталов и создания рабочих мест



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Собянин: В Москве утвердили планы развития жилых кварталов и создания рабочих мест


Новости России

Game News

It's actually happening, everybody stay calm: Silksong properly confirmed for a 2025 release date at the Nintendo Direct with a whole 3 seconds of footage


Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Russian.city

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this


Москва

В Москве студент умер от истощения во время мусульманского поста


Губернаторы России
Пулково

В аэропорту Пулково отменены 17 рейсов


Конфликт на станции "Арбатская": женщине грозит до 8 лет за нападение

Контроллер внутри стены: новый смарт-дюбель fischer мониторит здоровье дома

Рейтинг пяти лучших маркетинговых агентств: VICTORY GROUP занял первое место

НАТО СПОСОБНО НАНЕСТИ ЯДЕРНЫЙ УДАР ПО США И ЕВРОПЕ? НАТО СДЕЛАНО ДЛЯ ЭТОГО. СЕНСАЦИЯ! НОВОСТИ! СПЕЦOПЕРАЦИЯ "ЗИС". Россия, США, Европа могут улучшить отношения и здоровье общества?!


Декларация о доходах Виталия Кима: стало на одну квартиру меньше, а жена продала биткоины

Linkin Park решили вернуться в Россию

Певица Цыганова выступила против возвращения Долиной квартиры

Органный концерт «340 лет Баху и Генделю» в Москве: Владимир Скоморохов представит барочные шедевры


Блинкова не смогла выйти во второй круг турнира WTA в Чарльстоне

WTA сменила флаг Касаткиной в рейтинге на австралийский

Игрока в пинг-понг Сидоренко дисквалифицировали за оскорбление женщины-судьи

Анисимова победила Кудерметову в матче второго круга турнира в Чарльстоне


Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine


Axenix и «КОРУС Консалтинг» объявили о стратегическом партнерстве для реализации проектов на платформе интегрированного планирования In.Plan

Рейтинг пяти лучших маркетинговых агентств: VICTORY GROUP занял первое место

Контроллер внутри стены: новый смарт-дюбель fischer мониторит здоровье дома

«Ассоциация Блогеров и Агентств» и «Рейтинг Рунета» выпускают первый в России рейтинг агентств с экспертизой в инфлюенс-маркетинге


Тодоренко вновь проиграла иск против петербургской писательницы

Тайна имён. Что связывает наследников Петросяна с балетным миром

Больше полетов на Хайнань, до 20 рейсов ежедневно в Москву: аэропорт Казани перешел на летнее расписание

Александр Вучич: Тайные переговоры с Путиным в центре мирового внимания


В Кирово-Чепецке появится завод композитных материалов

Собянин: в 2025–2026 годах завершится реконструкция семи вокзалов

Вендел: Призываю всех болельщиков не сомневаться в моей мотивации

Один выкрал ребенка, второй — даже не познакомился со своей дочерью. Мужья Ольги Тумайкиной


Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine


Путин в России и мире
Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine



Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine



Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this



Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Персональные новости Russian.city
Дирижёр

Дирижера Челябинского театра оперы и балета отметили на Международном конкурсе



News Every Day

T-Mobile closes Lumos deal after dropping DEI




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости