From Risk to Realignment: How FIs Are Combatting Check Fraud in Commercial Receivables

Check fraud isn’t going away. It’s evolving. And financial institutions are increasingly in the crosshairs. 

Fraud Isn’t Fading—It’s Forcing Change 

Mail theft is frequently the entry point for check fraud. But for financial institutions (FIs), the real fallout happens downstream—when washed checks are deposited, duplicate items surface, or fraudulent transactions impact client accounts. The result? Higher losses, more exception handling, and strained internal teams. 

In this new environment, fraud prevention isn’t just about identifying bad checks. It’s about realigning how receivables are processed, reconciled, and supported—especially when paper still plays a dominant role in commercial payments. 

VIEW RELATED RESOURCES 

👉Webinar: The Great Realignment: How Financial Institutions Are Rethinking Payment Processing 

👉White Paper: Check Fraud Exposed: Proactive Measures for Financial Safety 

Check Fraud by the Numbers 

The risk is real—and growing. Fraud trends aren’t anecdotal; they’re supported by hard data that paints a troubling picture for financial institutions: 

• Check fraud reports nearly doubled between 2021 and 2022, with increases continuing into 2023—driven by organized fraud rings and rising mail theft targeting FIs. 
• High-volume mail theft from mail receptacles surged 139% from 2019 to 2023, highlighting the mounting risks tied to mail-based financial transactions. 
• Business check usage increased in 2024, with 73% of firms reporting they made payments by check—up from 68% the previous year—despite the push for digitization. 

At the same time: 

• Staff turnover is leaving operations teams stretched thin. 
• Clients expect faster, digital-first service. 
• Regulators are pushing for stronger risk controls. 

As Lynn Dufrane, EVP at CheckAlt, shared during a recent American Banker webinar, sponsored by Iron Mountain—The Great Realignment: How Financial Institutions Are Rethinking Payment Processing: 

“We’re at an inflection point. The systems that worked even a few years ago won’t necessarily carry institutions forward.”  

The takeaway? Checks aren’t disappearing overnight. Institutions must continue to support them—while modernizing how they manage, secure, and reconcile those payments. 

How Institutions Are Responding 

Leading FIs are taking proactive steps now—not waiting for check volumes to vanish before modernizing receivables and combatting check fraud at scale. They’re realigning operations to reduce fraud risk, improve efficiency, and support clients more effectively by: 

• Digitizing check processing to speed cash flow and reduce manual intervention. 
• Deploying SaaS-based receivables tools and APIs to enhance scalability and transparency. 
• Outsourcing lockbox operations to reduce overhead while maintaining strategic control. 
• Streamlining reconciliation and digitizing receivables to accelerate cash application and reduce errors. 

Each of these steps helps protect check-based revenue streams—while building resiliency against fraud and operational volatility. 

Smarter Check Handling Is the Real Goal 

This isn’t about eliminating checks—it’s about managing them smarter, faster, and more securely. 

📽️ Watch the Clip: Enhancing Check Processing Efficiencies – Lynn Dufrane

During the webinar, Lynn Dufrane highlighted how automation and strategic outsourcing are helping institutions handle checks with greater precision and speed—without sacrificing control or customer experience. 

CheckAlt’s Role in Fraud-Resilient Receivables 

At CheckAlt, we’re focused on helping financial institutions reduce check fraud exposure while simplifying commercial receivables with modern, flexible, fraud-conscious solutions built for the realities of today’s environment.  

Our platform helps FIs realign operations through: 

• A unified platform to manage checks, ACH, card, online banking bill pay, and remote deposit capture (RDC) in one place 
• Automation and reconciliation tools that reduce manual work and fraud exposure 
• API-enabled integration with treasury, core, and A/R systems 
• Rapid onboarding to help FIs scale up—or down—quickly 
• SaaS-based solutions to empower internal teams 

Whether your institution supports healthcare providers, property managers, municipalities, or other billing and invoiced-based clients, CheckAlt helps you simplify and strengthen how you process receivables—across check, ACH, and online channels. 

Let’s Rethink Receivables—Together 

The pressure to modernize receivables isn’t theoretical. It’s being driven by fraud threats, rising costs, and evolving client expectations. 

Financial institutions that act now to realign their receivables approach—through smarter check handling, scalable outsourcing, and integrated technology—will be better positioned to reduce fraud risk and lead the future of commercial payments. 

Ready to rethink your receivables? Contact CheckAlt today to get started. And for more insights and payment innovations, follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe to CheckAlt Connect, our monthly newsletter—delivered right to your inbox. 

For additional resources on this topic: 

🎬Watch the full webinar now: The Great Realignment 
📄Download our white paper: Check Fraud Exposed