CrossCheck Blog

Businesses need check guarantee services because they offer protection from the financial loss of accepting bad checks. Those checks are returned from the bank unpaid for a variety of reasons, including insufficient funds (NSF), closed or fake bank accounts, and stop payment orders. CrossCheck, a leading provider of check guarantee services in the U.S., has garnered a reputation for offering cost-effective solutions to check acceptance and processing since 1983. The people behind CrossCheck are so committed to developing check guarantee services … okay, maybe even a little obsessed about it at times … that they call it the “Guarantee Factor.”

Imagine a world where businesses and consumers could scan checks, upload the images via the web, and quickly determine if the checks are valid. Better yet, imagine if those same stakeholders could continue the process by depositing the checks, all without visiting a bank or leaving their offices. It could be a foolproof system, but on this date, April 1, (aka “April Fool’s Day”), the reality is that free online check verification doesn't exist ― never has and probably never will.

The announcement that Random Length Lumber Futures (for March 2021) have reached an all-time high ($1,004) has prompted a variety of solutions by contractors and other customers of building supply dealers. The record-high lumber prices soared past the $1,000 per 1,000 board feet mark on Feb. 18, sending buyers into reaction mode. This figure is over twice the amount ($495.60) from Nov. 2020. Experts say a strong home-building market, low-interest rates, and a boom in home remodeling are responsible for the increase despite other indications that demand for lumber is decreasing.

Nearly anyone can inadvertently write one bad check for insufficient funds, but doing it intentionally on a repeat basis constitutes check fraud. Also known as paperhanging, this type of crime is joined by a handful of other check fraud classifications. According to a report by the American Bankers Association (ABA), total check fraud attempts have reached a new all-time high in value: $15.8 billion in 2018 compared to just $8.5 billion in 2016. The ABA continued by saying that the financial loss from successful check fraud attempts rose from $789 million in 2016 to $1.3 billion in 2018. The ABA also said check fraud has been on the rise over the last 30 years due to digital channels. Is there a silver lining to this dark cloud? The answer is that U.S. banks prevent over 90% of check fraud attempts via early detection methods. Article Summary Types of Check Fraud Check Fraud in Relation to the History of Checks What Are the Penalties for Check Fraud? In Closing

The CrossCheck website receives a lot of queries: “Is this a good check?” … “I need to verify a check.” … “I received this check in the mail, is it real?” … and a dozen variations on a weekly basis. The marketing team responds as follows (or something similar) if the message is from a consumer: “CrossCheck provides check guarantee and other payments-processing services to merchants via monthly service agreements. We suggest you discuss the situation with the issuing bank. Thanks and good luck.” Sometimes the messages are disheartening: “Just got burned by a bad check.” If it’s a merchant, we explain that we can’t do anything about that particular check, but we can guarantee future checks to mitigate their losses.

Join CrossCheck’s Senior Vice President Charles Dortch III and other auto lending and leasing experts Oct. 28 – 30 at the 19th Annual Auto Finance Summit in Las Vegas. The summit offers networking events, an exhibit hall with over 100 top industry vendors, 40-plus elite industry speakers, and session tracks dedicated to mobility and innovation to help inspire future lending and leasing strategies. Attendees include prime and non-prime banks, credit unions, floor-plan lenders, thrifts, dealerships and other service providers. Over the years, the summit has hosted executives from nearly 200 lender companies including the top 25 lenders, making it the premier industry event of its kind.

It’s Saturday morning on Memorial Day weekend. The inflatable tube man is in perpetual motion, burgers are sizzling on the outdoor grill, and the television ads have been running for days. Your auto dealership is ready for its big, big marathon holiday sales event. You close out the preparations with a sales meeting. It’s “all hands on deck.” There are boxes of gooey donuts, pots of hot coffee, and a cadre of sharp-dressed sales people with their chins up. Your general manager delivers a pep-talk that would make the legendary Knute Rockne take notice.

Returned checks have been a domestic problem ever since checks were introduced in the U.S. by Boston businessmen circa 1681. Solutions vary, including pitches for “free online check verification” or “how to verify funds on a check before it bounces.” The bottom line, however, is that free check verification is as much of a myth as the proverbial free lunch or snake-oil elixirs. The cure, of course, is to contract a check verification and guarantee service provider. Acknowledging this fact, there are four general types of merchants who have or need check processing services: Merchants with check verification or guarantee. Merchants who don’t have check processing services. Merchants who want to accept check payments. Merchants with a returned check problem. Each of their stories is compelling, and each category has valid reasons for functioning with or without check processing services. The variables and outcomes are explored here.

“For every check, there is a reason, and a time to every purpose under heaven” — not exactly the King James version of Ecclesiastes 3:1, but certainly relevant to the subject of check verification machines. Play along s'il vous plaît. Check verification machines are what merchants use to determine whether or not a specific check is recommended by a check guarantee company such as CrossCheck. All check processing machines — including check verification machines — became necessary after the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21) went into effect in 2004. Check 21 allows banks to process checks electronically instead of exchanging traditional paper versions with other financial institutions via nightly air service.

A lot can happen in an instant. For example, there is instant change, instant credit, instant gratification, instant mashed potatoes, and naturally, instant check verification. Dictionary.com says the adjective instant is defined as “succeeding without any interval of time; prompt; immediate.” No argument here. Instant check verification is paramount to many U.S. merchants though some would argue that instant coffee tops the list. Nevertheless, all would agree that the two most important factors are succeeding in an instant.