Cash Management
What is Positive Pay?
Positive Pay is a powerful fraud prevention tool used by business customers to prevent check and ACH fraud. Florence Bank’s Positive Pay Service helps your business detect suspicious transactions, reducing the risk of financial loss and safeguarding the reputation of your business.
How does Positive Pay work?
Your business uploads a file containing issued check data into the Positive Pay system. Checks presented for payment against your account are compared to those issued by the business. Any check not on the issued check list (and potentially fraudulent) is sent to you as an exception for examination. The business logs in to the Positive Pay system, reviews the exception item and makes a "pay" or "return" decision for each item.
You also have the option to set up ACH authorization rules or filter blocks for complete fraud prevention. Depending on your needs, you can choose to block specific ACH transactions or authorize only specific vendors to access your account.
What happens if someone tries to cash a check at a Florence Bank branch?
The entire Florence Bank branch network is covered by Positive Pay protection. Any checks presented to a teller in a branch are compared to your company’s issued check file. If the check does not match the information in the file, Florence Bank will contact your business for authorization to cash the check. Calls are made during normal banking hours Monday through Friday.
How will our business be notified if there are exceptions to be processed?
You will receive notice by email if there are exceptions to be processed. The initial email is sent prior to 9:00 AM EST. A reminder email is sent one hour prior to the exception processing deadline.
What time is the exception processing deadline?
The exception processing deadline is 12:00 PM EST.
What happens if a decision is not made to exceptions by 12:00 PM?
To safeguard your account, exceptions not processed by 12:00 PM EST will receive an automatic decision of "return."
Can multiple users access Positive Pay?
Yes. Your business will designate an administrator of the Positive Pay service. The administrator can add additional authorized users with specific user permissions with access by account and by function.
What file formats does Florence Bank accept for issued check files?
The file format types that can be uploaded into the Positive Pay system are: Fixed Length, Microsoft Excel, or Delimited. These file formats may be easily extracted from your accounting or bookkeeping software.
What information is needed in the issued check file?
Only four pieces of the check information are needed: Check Number, Payee, Issue Date, and Amount. The issued check file may contain additional information, such as a memo, but is not required.
What if the file submitted contains items that are not checks?
If the issued check file contains other information, the system will ignore those items as long as they do not contain a Check Number, Payee, Issue Date, and Amount.
What if the wrong file is uploaded?
The bank can easily delete an incorrect file. If a file needs to be deleted, please contact the eBanking Department at 413.437.5000 or cashmgmt@florencebank.com.
What if a check is written after a file has been submitted?
If a check is written after a file has been submitted, you can either send a new updated file or submit the check(s) using the Add New Issued Check option. This option will allow you to enter a single check or a series of checks without having to create and upload a new file.
How can Positive Pay help with Account Reconciliation?
With Positive Pay, mismatched checks are identified sooner and account activity reconciled with increased accuracy. The Positive Pay system also includes a Check Reconciliation feature that shows a summary of issued, paid, voided, and outstanding checks.
Can my business export check/ACH transaction history for Account Reconciliation?
The Positive Pay service offers a Reverse File Extract which allows you to export ACH and/or check transaction history. This file can be imported into your accounting software to facilitate account reconciliation. The Reverse File Extract supports the CSV, XLS, and XLSX file types. CSV and XLS allow only paid check information to be viewed. XLSX allows all transactions to be viewed.
Are there fees associated with Positive Pay?
There is a fee for the Positive Pay service. Please view our current Business Account Information & Fee Schedule. With a Cash Management Checking account, fees may be offset with earnings credits generated from balances maintained in the account.
How do I sign up for Positive Pay?
To sign up for Positive Pay or any of our Cash Management Services, please contact our Digital Banking Department at 413.437.5000 or cashmgmt@florencebank.com or visit any one of our branch offices during banking hours. A staff member will schedule an appointment with our Cash Management Officer who will meet with your business to review the service and your specific needs.