Many banks offer a service called Positive Pay, which is an automatic fraud detection technology provided by their Cash Management Department. It compares each check presented for payment against a list of checks previously issued by the firm. Some banks only match the Account Number, Check Number, and Check Amount.
Positive Pay mandates that a company transmit a daily file of issued checks to their bank to ensure secure and accurate payment processing. This file includes the check number, account number, issue date, and dollar amount and may also have the payee's name. When checks are presented for payment at the bank, they are electronically compared to the transmitted list. If a check does not have a match in the file, it is considered an "exception item," and the bank sends an exception notice to the on-line portal . The client can then decide to pay or return the item.