Business Checks Survey Report
Advantage Laser Products conducted a survey to determine the dominant business function for checks, the prevalence of MICR-printing of checks by U.S. businesses, and the prevalence of check fraud and the use of positive pay check fraud prevention.
Check payment solutions play a critical role in the financial management of most organizations. Checks are intrinsic to the behavior of U.S. businesses and government agencies, and most organizations have structured their entire treasury management infrastructure around checks, from paying invoices to matching transactions. We believe there are three main reasons for why over 87% of our survey respondents’ organizations continue to use checks:
- Checks simply contain a lot more information than electronic payments, and may even have entire invoices attached to them. Checks simply contain a lot more information than electronic payments, and may even have entire invoices attached to them.
- Checks offer a cash flow advantage, by delaying the payment while the check is in the mail and during authentication process, often translating to days if not weeks of additional liquidity and interest income on cash.
- And with the use of very effective check fraud prevention solutions, such as positive pay, checks are also a safer payment solution than electronic payments, which are subject to hacking and cyber theft.
Until the security is enhanced in prevailing electronic payment methods, and an external, regulatory action forces a rapid transition to electronic transactions, many U.S. businesses will continue to use checks as the preferred payment solution.
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