As of early May, U.S. unemployment reached a historic 22.8%. That number is expected to rise, possibly to Great Depression levels, in the coming weeks. To help those laid off or furloughed as a result of the outbreak, the IRS has already issued over 128 million Treasury checks, paying out over $218 billion.
For those impacted, payments are being distributed over the coming weeks and banks and credit unions across the U.S. will have to process an unprecedented volume of U.S. Treasury checks.
To secure U.S. Treasury items, Advanced Fraud Solutions (AFS), the leader in deposit fraud detection software, recently unveiled new enhancements to the TrueChecks® platform – the industry’s leading check fraud database and comprehensive check fraud prevention solution.
Detailed below, AFS developed the following guide to securing Treasury items across your deposit channels. With TrueChecks, Treasury checks can be secured in real-time or in batch, regardless of your existing system.
Enhancements for Validating Treasury Checks
To strengthen protections against potentially fraudulent Treasury checks, AFS built several enhancements to the TrueChecks platform. These updates provide FIs with the ability to execute check validation of Treasury items.
With it, FIs can verify the following:
- Check has been issued
- Check has been issued, but has already been paid
- Check has been issued, but check amounts do not match
- Check has stop payment or has been canceled
- Check is not found
- Check has been issued for inquiry dollar amount and has not yet been reported paid
An Omnichannel Approach
The only true way to secure deposits like Treasury checks is through an omnichannel approach. That is, applying fraud prevention technology across your deposit channels. Fraudsters are consistently trying to target the weakest point, making it essential for FIs to have the same strategy across all deposit channels to reduce the risk of exposure to losses.
TrueChecks can evaluates deposits across every point of presentment. These points include the frontline, back office, mobile, interactive teller machine (ITM), ATM and other remote deposit capture (RDC) channels.
Fast and Easy Integration
TrueChecks integrates into most core systems or can be setup via custom API. The connection is seamless, allowing FIs to easily apply TrueChecks into any existing system or process. Set up is also fast and easy, and can be fully integrated within 48 hours.
TrueChecks also allows FIs to process items in real-time and/or batch.
Treasury Checks Link Directly to TrueChecks
A leading comprehensive check fraud prevention solution from Advanced Fraud Solutions, TrueChecks® delivers such an approach. TrueChecks links directly to the Treasury as well as displays Regulation CC-recommended actions and associated risk at the moment of presentment, allowing even inexperienced tellers to make the right call before exposing your financial institution to risk.
TrueChecks evaluates deposits across deposit channels by scanning check data against the TrueChecks database, which features over 10 years of historical data from thousands of banks, credit unions, and processor sources. What is more, TrueChecks not only validates Treasury checks against its own database, but also items against the Treasury check database.
Seamlessly integrating into any existing system, TrueChecks offers real-time responses on duplicates (effective against double presentment ploys), counterfeits, non-sufficient funds (NSF), and closed accounts. This helps reduce manual workload, eliminate manager intervention and prevent check fraud losses.
To learn more, download the Guide to Treasury Check Validation report.
