Positive Pay

Questions About Positive Pay

How does Positive Pay work?

Positive Pay helps protect your business against check and ACH fraud by comparing checks presented for payment against checks your business has issued.

Your business can either manually enter issued checks or upload a file containing issued check data into the Positive Pay system. Any checks that do not match the issued information are identified as exceptions and made available for review.

Authorized users can access Positive Pay through Business Online Banking to review exception items and determine whether each transaction should be paid or returned.

For enhanced fraud protection, ACH authorization rules and filter options are also available to help manage ACH activity on your accounts.

What happens if someone tries to cash a check at a Pentucket Bank branch?

Checks presented at Pentucket Bank branches are reviewed against your company’s issued check file as part of the Positive Pay process. Please refer to your Positive Pay agreement for details regarding over-the-counter exception handling.

How will our business be notified if there are exceptions to process?

Businesses enrolled in Positive Pay alerts may receive email notifications when exception items require attention. Pentucket Bank also recommends reviewing Positive Pay activity through Business Online Banking each business day.

What is the exception processing deadline?

The daily processing deadlines are:

• 11:00 AM for check exceptions
• 3:00 PM for ACH exceptions

What happens if decisions are not made by the deadline?

Exceptions not processed before the deadline will automatically receive a “return” decision in order to help protect your account.

Can multiple users access Positive Pay?

Yes. Positive Pay access is initially assigned to the Business Online Banking administrator. Additional authorized users may be added with customizable permissions based on user roles and account access.

What file formats are accepted for issued check uploads?

Fixed-length and delimited text files are accepted for Positive Pay issued check uploads.

What information is required in the issued check file?

Each issued check record should include:

• Check number
• Issue date
• Payee
• Amount

Additional optional information may also be included.

What if the uploaded file contains transactions that are not checks?

The uploaded file should contain only issued check information and required data fields.

What if additional checks are written after a file upload?

You may upload an updated file or manually enter checks using the “Enter Issue” option. This feature allows individual checks or ranges of checks to be added without submitting a new file.

Are there fees associated with Positive Pay?

Yes. Fees may apply for Positive Pay services. Please contact Pentucket Bank for current pricing information.

How do I sign up for Positive Pay?

To enroll in Positive Pay or learn more about Pentucket Bank’s treasury management services, please contact our Business Banking team or visit a local branch.