Positive Pay Explained: What Your Bank Needs From Your Check File
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Positive Pay is a bank service that compares each check presented against a list of issued checks you send, and holds anything that does not match as an exception for you to pay or return. The file your bank asks for usually has the account number, check number, issue date and amount, plus the payee name if you want payee match.
How the matching works
One bank's published setup guide (Bell Bank) puts it plainly. When a check is deposited or cashed, its serial number and amount are checked against the records you gave the bank. Anything that does not match becomes an exception, and you decide whether to pay or return it before that bank's daily cutoff, which is 3 p.m. Central at Bell Bank. Your bank's cutoff will differ, so ask.
You send the records one of two ways: an uploaded file, or one check at a time through online banking. Bell Bank adds that many accounting packages and add-ons can generate a compatible issued-check file.
What goes in the file
Banks differ on field order and format, but the fields are close to the same everywhere. These come from the published guides of Bell Bank, Simmons Bank, MVB Bank and F&M Bank.
| Field | Notes from the bank guides |
|---|---|
| Account number | Required when one file covers several accounts. Optional at some banks for a single account. |
| Check number | Numeric. Must match the number encoded in the MICR line. |
| Issue date | Formats vary. MVB wants MMDDYYYY in a text file. |
| Amount | Decimal point included at MVB. No dollar signs at Simmons. |
| Payee name | Needed for payee match. Simmons says it should match what is printed on the check exactly, including capitalization and punctuation. MVB says no commas. |
| Void or stop indicator | Optional. Bell Bank suggests I, V and S for issued, void and stop payment. Without it, every record is treated as issued. |
Two more rules show up repeatedly. MVB says no headers or totals in the file, and file names and size limits are set by the bank. Simmons accepts CSV or Excel. Get your own bank's mapping sheet before you build anything.
Why the payee field matters most
Amount and check number matching catches a counterfeit with a made-up serial number. Payee match is what catches a washed check where the thief changed only the name. That is also where files fail, because the bank compares your text to what it reads off the check image. A name typed as "Smith, J." in your system and printed as "John Smith" on the check will throw an exception even though nothing is wrong. Print and export from the same record, so the two always agree.
Set it up in the right order
- Ask your bank for its Positive Pay file specification and sign its agreement. MVB's guide lists a master agreement and a Positive Pay exhibit as setup items.
- Pick a file format your check software can produce. If it cannot, ask your bank what else it accepts. Simmons Bank, for one, takes CSV or Excel files.
- Send a test file and have the bank confirm it maps correctly. MVB requires testing before automated transmission.
- Upload each file when the checks are printed, not days later. A check presented before its record arrives has nothing to match against, so expect an exception.
- Check the exception queue every business day, and void or stop-pay records as they happen.
Printing on blank stock makes the file easier
When you print checks yourself on blank check stock, your software already holds every number the bank wants at the moment of printing. Whether it can write that data out in your bank's layout is a separate question, so ask the software vendor before you commit, and ask your bank whether it will take a test file.
Frequently asked questions
Does Positive Pay stop a washed check?
It can. If your bank offers payee match and you have it on, a check presented with a different payee than your file shows up as an exception.
Do I need to include the account number in the file?
Often only if one file covers more than one account. Bell Bank lists it as optional except for multi-account uploads and auto-loaded files. Your bank sets the rule.
What if I forget to send a record for a check I printed?
The check will usually be flagged as an exception when it is presented, and you can approve it.
Is there a standard Positive Pay file layout?
No single layout appears in the bank guides we reviewed. Each bank publishes its own, so use your bank's specification.
Talk to us
Questions about check stock, MICR toner or printers? Call ACOM Business Solutions at 800-891-7899 or use the contact page.