Payments Are Evolving. 
So Is Fraud Protection.

Why More Businesses Are Leaving Checks Behind

Paper checks have long been a business staple, but more companies are discovering that ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments offer a more efficient and secure way to send and receive money — one that’s also harder to lose, steal or tamper with.

Benefits of ACH include:

• Faster, more reliable payments
• Less manual processing and paperwork
• Reduced exposure to check fraud
• Improved payment tracking and reconciliation
• Greater visibility into cash flow

If your business is still relying heavily on paper checks, now is a great time to explore ACH. Contact Providence Bank & Trust's Cash Management Specialty team to learn how ACH can help your business save time, improve efficiency and strengthen payment security.

Providence Bank & Trust is seeing an increase in scams targeting commercial customers. With this trend, scammers are impersonating Providence Bank & Trust representatives in an effort to obtain your confidential banking information. They may contact you by phone, text or email with claims of suspicious activity, requests to verify ACH Batches or Wire Transfers, or other account security concerns.

If something doesn't feel right, trust your instincts. It's always okay to pause, ask questions and verify before responding.

Verify the source—not the appearance.

Scammers can make calls, emails and text messages appear to come from Providence Bank & Trust. Before taking any action, verify you're communicating directly with us by starting a new conversation using trusted contact information. It's one of the simplest and most effective ways to help protect yourself from impersonation scams.

Visit our fraud alert page for more details on this scam and to view an example of the fraudulent emails being sent from scammer to some of our customers.

Please share this information with employees who have access to Digital Banking¹, ACH, wire, payroll or payment processing systems.

The Best Fraud Prevention Is

The Fraud You Never Have To Deal With

Most businesses don't think about check fraud until it happens. Fraudsters continue to use tactics such as check washing, forged signatures, and altered payee names to target businesses of all sizes. A single fraudulent check can cost a business thousands of dollars — and once it's paid, that money is often gone for good.

That's where Positive Pay² can help. By comparing checks presented for payment against the checks your business has issued, Positive Pay can catch potential problems before they cost you anything. If something doesn't match, you have the opportunity to review the item within the Digital Banking platform and decide whether it should be paid or returned.

Why Use Positive Pay

✓ Helps detect altered, counterfeit and fraudulent checks

✓ Gives you greater control over check payments

✓ Reduces exposure to fraud losses

✓ Provides an added layer of protection for your accounts

Already Using Positive Pay?

Review your exception notification contacts and approval workflow to ensure alerts are reaching the right people. It's also a good idea to identify backup approvers for vacations or absences so exception items can be addressed promptly.

Whether you’re reviewing an existing Positive Pay setup or considering it for the first time, now is a great time to explore additional ways to strengthen your business's fraud prevention strategy.

Connect with a Cash Management Specialist below to learn more and enroll in ACH and Positive Pay!

Sarah Allen

Dan Faragoi

Cole Parsons

Gina Thomas

Sukriti Verma

Cindy Willis

Questions?

888-923-5664

cashmgmt@providence.bank^†

¹Downloadable App for Apple and Android users and text message banking are available. Providence Bank & Trust does not charge fees for using the basic consumer and/or business mobile banking service. Mobile deposit, a feature within mobile banking, is available to consumers with no fee and is available to businesses with no fee for deposits up to $20,000 per business day. However, if a businesses’ mobile deposits exceed $20,000 per business day, a $25 fee per month will apply. In addition, your wireless carrier may charge you a fee for SMS (text) messaging and/or data usage, whichever is required for mobile banking. Other fees or restrictions may apply.

²Positive Pay is a fee-based service, and although not required, it is highly recommended. Providence Bank & Trust does not provide fraud insurance or cover losses in the event of fraud. Contact a Cash Management Specialist for current terms, conditions and applicable fees.

^†Do not send sensitive personal information via email, including account numbers, social security numbers, date of birth or any information that is intended to be kept private.

EMAIL SECURITY INFORMATION

Your financial safety and security is very important to us. Providence Bank & Trust will never solicit you via email for passwords, account numbers, social security numbers, date of birth, or any other personal information. If you receive a message suggesting it is from Providence Bank & Trust asking for personal information, do not respond to it. To report suspicious emails or other scams, please contact us at info@providence.bank or call our Customer Care Center at 888-923-5664. If you wish to not follow hyper-links from this email, you can access information about our products and services by visiting our website at providence.bank.

For online security resources, visit our website at www.providence.bank/security-resources/.

For online fraud prevention, visit our fraud protection resource center at www.providence.bank/fraud-protection/.

To learn how you can keep yourself protected from cyber crimes, visit our website at www.providence.bank/cybersmart/.

This is an automatically generated email. Please do not reply to this message. To contact Providence Bank & Trust via email, please create a new email message and send to info@providence.bank. Do not send sensitive personal information via email, including account numbers, social security numbers, date of birth or any information that is intended to be kept private. You are receiving this email as a result of your ongoing relationship with Providence Bank & Trust. While beneficial to a wide audience, this information is also commercial in nature and it may contain advertising material. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective owners or holders. Use of these trademarks, including references which may not display the TM or ® designation, does not and should not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by those owners or holders.