As Business Fraud increases, banks are looking for ways to help customers protect themselves.

2013

With a typical organization losing 5% of its revenue to fraud each year, it’s no wonder that Banks has created Treasury Management Products that protect business with fraud and ways to make payment to vendors and suppliers easier and more secure.

The number one method of fraud in businesses is internal fraud. We all know of that business that has had the trusty bookkeeper for 30 years and trusts them, however sometimes that bookkeeper may start a gambling habit that you don’t know about and can start skimming off the books. Owners need to protect themselves while allowing the bookkeeper to do their job.

FACT: Did you know that if a transaction clears your checking account (debt card, check etc.) you have 30 days to tell the bank of the unauthorized checks and 60 days for unauthorized electronic debits, otherwise you are stuck with the charge?

Positive Pay

One of the most common ways to protect your business account is with a service called Positive Pay. This service assists businesses in efficiently and accurately detecting fraudulent items presented against your accounts. Organizations implementing Positive Pay reduce their exposure to liability and benefit from the resulting time- and cost-savings.

With Positive Pay, we validate checks presented for payment on your account against a check record you provide BEFORE an item is processed for payment. If an item does not match it is flagged as an exception, and referred back to you for a payment decision prior to posting to the account, thereby giving you these additional benefits:

• Minimize or eliminate check fraud to prevent losses;
• Simplify month-end checking account reconciliation.

Zero-Balance Accounts

Another product that helps is what is called Zero-Balance Accounts. This product heightens your ability to effectively manage cash flow by linking multiple checking accounts and automatically concentrating excess funds into a single lead account. Use as a risk management tool to minimize complications if an account is compromised.

FACT: Did you know that 63% of small businesses that don’t have a bookkeeper ever check there bank statement until it’s too late to report fraud on the account.

Online ACH and Wire Transfers

Paying your employees, vendors and suppliers can not only be a hassle to keep track but issuing checks can be not only time consuming but your giving that person your bank account number. With ACH (Automated Clearing House) service you can send bank-to-bank credit or debit ACH transactions, pay employees via direct deposit, electronically debit customer accounts, and many other options, including:

• Supports dual control protocols for the creation and import of ACH files;
• ACH sub-users granted rights to either submit or approve ACH files;
• Multi-factor authentication is required for ACH origination, providing you with an additional layer of online information security;
• Assign sub-users specific access levels and monitor all activity anytime.

These are just some of the products that most banks offer to help business clients protect their money and make their lives a little easier. Check with your banker today if you can benefit from these.