ICBA last week met with Treasury officials as the department works to transition from paper checks to electronic payments for all federal disbursements and receipts.

Background: The Trump administration on March 25 released an executive order directing Treasury to transition from paper checks to electronic payments, noting the use of checks imposes unnecessary costs and raises the risks of fraud. ICBA on March 26 issued a statement applauding the administration for working to combat the threat of check fraud.

Treasury Meeting: At last week’s Modern Payments Roundtable, ICBA Senior Executive Vice President and Chief of Government Relations and Public Policy Anne Balcer met with Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender and other policymakers to discuss the problem of check fraud and partnership opportunities.

Key Issues: During the meeting, Balcer noted:

  • ICBA and its Check Fraud Task Force are partnering with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to raise consumer awareness of the issue and are available to work with Treasury as it transitions away from paper checks to ensure more secure payments.

  • Regulatory and law enforcement agencies across the federal government should work together to create a cohesive, consistent federal approach to check fraud.

  • While community banks generally are ready to send and receive electronic payments, many customers still rely on checks, so public awareness efforts should be appropriately tailored to community bank customers.

Treasury Check Resource: Amid a dramatic rise in check fraud, ICBA has encouraged community banks to use the Treasury Department’s Treasury Check Verification System to catch canceled, duplicate, or other problematic Treasury checks at the time of presentment.

Additional ICBA Resources:

  • ICBA’s partnership with the Postal Inspection Service includes a customizable news release via ICBA’s Marketing Resource Center.

  • The ICBA website features additional community banker resources on fraud and scams, including ICBA’s guides on check fraud and online fraud courses.

  • The Fraud subgroup on ICBA Community includes nearly 900 members dedicated to discussing fraud.

  • The May issue of Independent Banker focuses on what community banks need to fight fraud.