How cheque imaging prevents cheque fraud

The rollout of a cheque imaging system in October 2017 reduced the clearing time of cheques to just a single day. Cheque imaging is now very much underway, running in parallel with the traditional clearing system.

Although it has breathed new life into the cheque, which previously was at risk of extinction, there are concerns about cheque fraud as the human element of cheque clearing is no longer necessary.

How does cheque imaging work?

The system electronically transmits the image of a cheque, which is created by the bank or building society when the cheque is paid in, between banks. Some banks also have an app so that cheques can be paid in using a smartphone.

Personal or small business customers can image cheques using a secure imaging tool on their smartphones. The image can then be uploaded to be processed by the bank or building society. Corporate customers may be offered a scanning tool in order to scan multiple cheques and create the images remotely before uploading to the bank for processing.

How does cheque imaging prevent fraud?

There may be concern over the security of the new cheque imaging system, but there needn’t be. The system involves in-built security and checks that protect people against fraud throughout the entire process. This essentially means that as long as you have been careful with your cheques, for example, not giving somebody a blank cheque that has been signed, you will be protected if fraudulent activity occurs.

If anything, cheque imaging can detect fraud even more accurately as you can easily compare number sequences, amounts, signatures, and different cheque stock to discover if there is the chance of a suspicious payment.

Cheque imaging provides new opportunities to combat fraud and tackle security threats that have been affecting cheque users for many years. Due to the reduced time lag in between cashing a cheque and the money being moved between accounts, cheque imaging eliminates types of cheque fraud that could take place in this time. Banks will also be able to contact the customer if they suspect behaviour that may seem out of the ordinary.

Hague has many years of experience working in the cheque printing business and all of our cheques meet strict C&CC requirements. We can assist in the end-to-end process from producing and personalising your cheques to processing and scanning.

Get in touch to find out more about our secure cheque printing service. Once we have your details, a member of the Hague team will set up a free consultation.