What is Positive Pay?

Check fraud continues to grow in today's market. East West Bank wants to help you protect your business against criminals negotiating checks against your account. Our Positive Pay service helps detect fraud right away to prevent losses. Not only does our service detect potential fraud items processed through our nightly process, but checks negotiated over the counter at East West Bank are matched to the checks you issue before they are cashed.

Why should I use it?

In today's business environment, check fraud is growing. The introduction of Check 21 in 2004 has helped criminals work around traditional fraud detection controls. With Positive Pay, you have control to determine which items are paid and those that should be returned.

Do I have to review all the checks paid against my account?

No. Whenever you write checks, you send the bank a list of those checks. Checks that are presented against your account are matched to that list. If they don't agree, they will be presented to you as Exceptions. You only need to make decisions on those Exceptions.

What about checks that are cashed at East West Bank branches?

Our Positive Pay service extends to our branch network as well. If someone tries to cash a check on your account, we will match that check against the list you provided the bank. If it matches, the check will be cashed. We have special review procedures for checks that do not agree to what you have issued.