Check payments fraud is a part of check payments risk, and has been since the dawn of check payments. A landmark court case, Price v. Neal, decided in an English court in 1762 has long been used as the precedence for addressing and assigning the responsibility for forgeries and counterfeit check payments. This case determined that the party in the best position to know the drawer’s signature is responsible for a forged or counterfeit check.

The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) incorporated this doctrine in Article 4-401 when it provides that a bank may charge its customer’s account for a check that is “properly payable”, which is further defined as “authorized by the drawer and in accordance with any agreement between the customer and bank.”

The UCC presentment warranties found in Articles 3-417 and 4-208 made by the presenting bank to the paying bank specifically states that the presenting bank “has no knowledge that the drawer’s signature is not authorized.”

For more information, contact Dal Bolt NCP, AAP [email protected]

A total of 26.8 billion payments were made on the ACH Network in 2020—up 8.2% from a year prior—with a record of more than 2 billion new payments added, according to new figures released by NACHA yesterday. Of the total number of payments, 15.2 billion were debit payments and 11.6 billion were credit payments. The total value of ACH payments in 2020 was $61.9 trillion, up 10% from 2019. Check payments, meanwhile, fell by more than 21%.

Same-day ACH payments also continued to rise in popularity; same-day transactions rose 39% to 347 million, and total value increased 86% from 2019. NACHA will continue the expansion of its same-day ACH services in March, when it will implement a later same-day ACH window. Read more.

The vast majority of small firms—95%—said that the coronavirus pandemic affected their business, with 26% reporting temporary closures, 56% reporting reductions in operations and another 48% reporting modifications to their operations, according to the latest Small Business Credit Survey released yesterday by the Federal Reserve Banks. The survey was based on responses collected between September and October 2020, just after the closing the of the first round of Paycheck Protection Program funding.

For the first time in the survey’s five-year history, more businesses reported decreases in revenues and employment than increases; 78% of firms reported a decrease in revenue, while 46% reported declines in employment. More than half of all firms surveyed reported their financial condition as “fair” or “poor.” Sixty-five percent said that they were facing challenges meeting operating expenses, while 44% struggled to make payments on debt and 43% struggled to pay rent.

Nine in 10 firms sought some type of emergency funding to help meet these financing challenges, including 82% who sought a PPP loan, 47% who sought an Economic Injury Disaster Loan and 35% who sought an EIDL grant. Among PPP applicants, 96% who applied said they received at least some funding, and 80% said they expect their PPP loan to be forgiven in full.

Nearly half—48%—of PPP borrowers applied for funds through a small bank, while 43% applied to a large bank, 9% used an online lender, 5% used a credit union, 3% used a finance company and 2% used a community development financial institution. Borrowers also had the most success with receiving a fully funded PPP loan from a small bank (78%), compared to large banks (70%), online lenders (47%), credit unions (63%), finance companies (41%), and CDFIs (44%).

The Fed also asked firms if they would apply for additional government aid if offered. Sixty-four percent said they would apply, and of that, 39% believe it is unlikely their business would survive without further assistance until sales return to normal. Read the report.

The Federal Trade Commission said it received more than 2.1 million fraud reports from consumers in 2020. Consumers reported losing more than $3.3 billion to fraud in 2020, up from $1.8 billion in 2019.

According to the FTC, imposter scams remained the most common type of fraud reported to the agency, followed by online shopping, internet services, prizes and sweepstakes, and telephone and mobile services.

More fraud information and resources are available on ICBA's Cyber & Data Security page.

Starting on March 1, a set of common community names for the .bank domain will be open for application from fTLD Registry Services, which oversees the domain. Names such as Farmersandmechanics.bank and firstamerican.bank will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for applicants that meet eligibility requirements.

Applications submitted before 11 a.m. EST on March 1 will not be considered. Prior to the launch of .bank in May 2015, fTLD reserved numerous domain names that were not available for immediate registration. Read more.

If you have any questions regarding the conference or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Donna Harden ([email protected]).