Payee Positive Pay

Payee Positive PayClient Overview Functional overview Bank of America Merrill Lynch Payee Positive Pay is an image-based fraud prevention tool that can help detect false or altered payee names on checks presented to the bank. Payee discrepancies will be reported to you for review and the decision whether to pay or return the item. This allows you to receive notification of suspicious payee names earlier in the process, providing an efficient and cost-effective defense system against check fraud. How Payee Positive Pay works Send us check issue information by the applicable deadline prior to distribution of checks. You have two options for sending payee name information to Bank of America Merrill Lynch:   Issue match – Modify your current check issue file to include an added Payee Name field. Payee name submitted by issue file must match, and be in the same order as, the payee name as printed on the check. Seal match – Print the payee name in an encrypted seal as the check is printed, using print technology provided by our vendor. Day 0    Checks are presented to Bank of America for payment. Payee name is “read” from the image using digital technology and compared to the payee name within the issue file or the payee name within the encrypted seal on the face of the check. DDA posting occurs. Day 1  Each day, payee name exception items are reviewed by Bank of America and are available to you on CashPro® Online by your Positive Pay reporting timeframe for all of your Payee Positive Pay accounts. Your entitled Positive Pay user(s) will be able to review the exceptions (and images) and submit a decis ion through CashPro Online Positive Pay by the existing Positive Pay decision deadline. Paper stock and check design An integral part of image fraud detection is the paper stock and check design. Consistency of the check on an account basis is important as it is verified in the check paying process. High-quality paper stock adds appeal and forms the background for information printed on the item. As a result, the quality of the check stock can dictate the quality of the resulting image in the check paying process. Paper stock   Check dimensions should be the same for each bank account number. Paper weight should be 24-pound MICR Bond. Check design      Design must conform to ANSI layout standards (see ANSI guideline X9.7 – X9.100): The colored background should wash out when the check is imaged in black and white at standard sorter resolutions (200 dpi). Lighter colored backgrounds are preferred; pastel colored backgrounds are optimal. Any printing, shading or other use of the back of all checks must conform to Federal Reserve Bank Regulation CC standards. Any overlays that are part of the check design or printing should be consistent. The background should not create too much interference with the text/numbers. The amount area and all background and design graphics should have high reflectivity. It is recommended that halftone printing be used for the non-critical portions of the check. name.Check information Check information should be consistent and comply with the following criteria: Font styles       Payee information should be printed with same font type. specifically. May include multiple lines of the payee address block. Information should not be boldfaced. Information should be upper case. Many “Serif and San Serif” fonts are applicable. if the payee name is “John Doe. size and location by account.” and there is only one line of payee name information. in other jurisdictions. “Bank of America Merrill Lynch” is the marketing name for the global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America Corporation.” The target marker for location of the amount (the “CAR amount”) should be preceded by a $ sign (e.00). payee. There should be no blank spaces or lines between the payee name and the address. Banc of America Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch. strategic advisory. the below fonts provide the best read rate results: Courier New Arial (not Arial Black or bold) Courier The font size should be a minimum of 12 point. and other investment banking activities are performed globally by investment banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“Investment Banking Affiliates”). Lending. May include up to 256 characters. Member FDIC. The recommended format is either using a single line: PAY TO THE ORDER OF: JOHN DOE Or left aligned on 3 lines PAY TO THE JOHN DOE ORDER OF         The payee name(s): Should start on the first line of the payee address block. member FDIC.g.0 line spacing between all lines. including. as defined by the format and platform used. If an address line is on the check.g. in the United States. date. derivatives. ©2009 Bank of America Corporation. locally registered entities. Investment products offered by Investment Banking Affiliates: Are Not FDIC Insured * May Lose Value * Are Not Bank Guaranteed. The payee address block should be left aligned. the paragraph should use 1. . however. NA. underlined or handwritten. courtesy amount and legal amount) should be consistent by account number. For example.A. and. This includes payee lines and address lines. it should follow the payee line. and other commercial banking activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation.. For the payee address block. Placement of Legal Dollar Amount (LAR$) should be above Payee Name information as defined in the Business Check Layout referenced in the MICR specifications. cursive.. Payee data should not be printed in an area that includes other fraud prevention features such as the word “Void. Securities. the next line on the printed check should not contain additional “non-payee” or “non-address” internal information. including Bank of America. Fenner & Smith Incorporated. $100. Bank of America. Information placement  The location of check information (e. ©2012 Bank of America Corporation. bold or underlined and should be capitalized and at the same level on the left or immediately above the payee name with no space for an additional payee to be added. Additional “non-payee” information should not be included within the Payee Name field of the printed check. The information should be in black ink. which are both registered broker-dealers and members of FINRA and SIPC. N. italicized. Pierce. “PAY TO THE ORDER OF” should not be italicized. The target marker for location of the payee. not subject to Payee Positive Pay. The total number of characters of alphanumeric payee name information that may be submitted is dependent on the format/platform as follows: IDS and IMPACS accounts (SMS Account Reconcilement platform): a total of up to 256 alphanumeric characters. in the United States. accounts may be placed in an inactive state for payee positive pay.Check printing The printing of checks is an important step of the process. if payee name on the check is “John Doe. We will notify you in the event we need to place your account(s) in an inactive state for resolution. derivatives. For example. locally registered entities. John.” it must be submitted via issue transmission as “John Doe” and not as “Doe. including. Note: Submission of additional data will reduce the amount of characters available for payee name verification. NA. as part of the implementation process.” this should be submitted as “MONA MAY#JOHN JONES” within the issue transmission.. Fenner & Smith Incorporated. all sources must adhere to Payee Positive Pay issue input and check printing guidelines. For submission of additional data for internal accounting purposes. Investment products offered by Investment Banking Affiliates: Are Not FDIC Insured * May Lose Value * Are Not Bank Guaranteed. N. Banc of America Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch. with the discontinuance of the payee positive pay service.  Complete issue input transmission testing with the inclusion of payee name information. preceding the additional data. we will notify you of the problem for resolution. may be submitted. as defined by the format and platform used. ©2009 Bank of America Corporation. .” For payee name printing on multiple lines. CashPro Online or Secure Seal. Payee name submitted via issue file must exactly match and be in the same order as payee name printed on the check. and other investment banking activities are performed globally by investment banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“Investment Banking Affiliates”). Issue input through CashPro Online may pass up to 50 characters of payee name information for verification. CT Controlled Disbursement (CDR accounts): a total of up to 50 alphanumeric characters may be submitted. although Laser is preferred  Minimum of 600 DPI External factors Factors that negatively affect the Digital Interrogation read rate include:  Images with poor scanned image quality  Audit trail sprays that obscure targeted information or confuse the layout of the check Implementation To ensure successful implementation. which indicates to our system to go to the next line. “Bank of America Merrill Lynch” is the marketing name for the global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America Corporation.A. you must submit: Payee name information via issue transmission. member FDIC. including Bank of America. Member FDIC. Pierce.g. you must:  Submit voided check stock samples for check stock and payee information readability testing. accounting control number). Additional Payee Positive Pay requirements    For Payee Positive Pay. For example. a „##‟ (depending upon format used) should be inserted following the end of the payee name. which are both registered broker-dealers and members of FINRA and SIPC. (e. Lending. if the first line on the check is “MONA MAY” and the second line is “JOHN JONES. If there are significant readability or issue file problems. Issue input requirements include: For multiple sources of issue input. and other commercial banking activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation. ©2012 Bank of America Corporation. strategic advisory. Bank of America. and. High-quality printing enhances the quality of the image that is used in the check paying process. The printing should be:  Laser or Ink Jet print.. Securities. in other jurisdictions. If readability or issue transmission problems occur. each line of payee information on the issue file must be separated with a „#‟ delimiter. Lending. Checks that pay with issue date prior to Payee Positive Pay service start date. and other investment banking activities are performed globally by investment banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“Investment Banking Affiliates”). strategic advisory. Checks that pay for which there is no payee name information submitted in your issuance data may be reported as “Payee Not Found” exceptions. Duplicate Paid items are reported as Duplicate Paid exceptions via Positive Pay reporting. NA. Securities. . Pierce. derivatives. you may see the following changes to your reconcilement output format: Reconcilement Output Paper output SMS Account Reconcilement   Transmission Output   No change in format Up to 15 characters payee name displayed in Payee Identification field No change to format Payee name may optionally be included in transmission output Additional information For complete information about our products and services. ©2009 Bank of America Corporation. and. and other commercial banking activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation. “Bank of America Merrill Lynch” is the marketing name for the global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America Corporation. N.A. which are both registered broker-dealers and members of FINRA and SIPC. Investment products offered by Investment Banking Affiliates: Are Not FDIC Insured * May Lose Value * Are Not Bank Guaranteed. Reconcilement output With Payee Positive Pay. and the terms and conditions that may apply. Items not subject to payee name verification by us include: Checks that pay for which there is no payee name information. Duplicate serial numbers.. in the United States. including Bank of America. Banc of America Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch. Fenner & Smith Incorporated. locally registered entities. in other jurisdictions. Full-day processing for Payee Positive Pay service will begin the first business day following Payee Positive Pay service start date. including. please contact your Global Treasury Services representative. Checks that pay for which there is no issuance information on file are reported as “Paid No Issue” exceptions via the positive pay exception reporting process. or re-used serial numbers. Member FDIC. ©2012 Bank of America Corporation. member FDIC. Bank of America.