Regardless of size or industry, business owners face daily obstacles as they deliver quality goods and services. While traditional concerns such as staffing and supply-chain issues weigh heavily on the minds of those responsible, there is an ever-increasing risk looming that is frequently underestimated, commercial check fraud.
“The most prevalent forms of check fraud are check forgeries, counterfeit checks, and altered checks,” according to Stephanie Quiggle, Union State Bank’s Financial Crimes Manager. “
According to data reported in the 2024 Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) Payments Fraud Survey, 80% of organizations reported being victims of payments fraud, marking a 15-percentage increase from the previous year.
“Checks are relatively simple to alter and reproduce, making them an easy target for fraudsters to create a counterfeit check to negotiate at any financial institution or ATM, or debit your account by ACH,” Quiggle said.
Locally, Union State Bank (USB) has seen a rise in check fraud, including counterfeit and altered checks. As such, the bank is urging commercial customers to take advantage of their fraud prevention tools, including enrolling in their Positive Pay check verification service.
“We have several products and features available to help safeguard your account, including our Positive Pay service,” explains Amber Groene, Union State Bank’s Director of Treasury Services. “Positive Pay significantly reduces the risk of check fraud by ensuring that only checks that match your pre-approved list are processed for payment.”
USB is proactively contacting at-risk customers to provide additional information about the Positive Pay service and encouraging enrollment. A letter will be mailed the first of October to all commercial account holders who are not currently enrolled in the service.
“At Union State Bank, protecting your business accounts is one of our top priorities,” states Groene within the letter. “Your security is important to us, and we encourage you to take advantage of the services designed to protect your business.”
In 2024, USB’s Positive Pay service prevented over $280,000 in commercial check fraud. An amount that could have been the responsibility of the business owners from which the checks originated.
“By not enrolling, our commercial customers could be assuming responsibility for any fraudulent or unauthorized transactions that could have been prevented by these services,” said Groene. “If they are not enrolled in the Positive Pay service and a fraudulent check posts to their account, their business could realize all losses as a result of this activity.”
Through the letter, USB provides multiple options for enrolling in the service including mail, phone, email and online.
“We’ve made enrolling in, or opting out of Positive Pay simple,” said Groene. “If we do not receive a completed enrollment or notification of opting out by December first (2025), we will consider the customer’s non-response as a decision to decline USB’s Positive Pay service.”
Commercial customers with questions about check fraud or USB’s Positive Pay service can find more information on their website at www.MyUnionState.Bank/positive-pay or contact customer service at 866-557-0060.
About Union State Bank: Founded in 1908, Union State Bank has banking locations serving communities of Arkansas City, Newton, Udall, Winfield, and Wichita in Kansas and in Bartlesville and Edmond, Oklahoma. Union State Bank offers a full range of electronic, deposit and cash management services, as well as business and agriculture, commercial real estate, construction, mortgage, residential and consumer loans. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender, NMLS# 412388