Podcast on Fraud Prevention: ACH Check Fraud Rising
Summary
NACHA published a podcast featuring Q2 and NACHA executives discussing the rise in check and ACH fraud. The podcast highlights that Positive Pay fraud prevention services are often adopted reactively after fraud occurs rather than proactively, and explores potential industry shifts such as making fraud protection an 'opt-out' rather than 'opt-in' service.
What changed
The podcast discusses the increasing prevalence of check and ACH fraud in the payments ecosystem, noting that checks persist because businesses rely on them operationally and fraud controls are not universally adopted. It emphasizes that financial institutions often sell Positive Pay reactively after fraud happens rather than proactively, and explores the concept of making fraud protection an 'opt-out' service.\n\nFor banks and credit unions, the content suggests reassessing fraud prevention sales strategies to be more proactive. For businesses using ACH and check payments, the discussion highlights the growing importance of adopting automated fraud protection services before fraud occurs rather than after.
What to do next
- Monitor NACHA communications for updates on fraud trends
- Evaluate current fraud prevention tool adoption strategy
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Posted on
April 06, 2026
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When it comes to fraudsters, that old saying to “follow the money” clearly applies, because that’s exactly what they do. And it helps explain why check fraud is rising, even as the shift to ACH business-to-business payments continues.
“The uncomfortable truth is checks persist because businesses still rely on them operationally. And fraud persists because fraud controls aren’t universally adopted across those businesses,” said Tim Kindschuh, Senior Manager, Product Management at Q2, a digital banking provider for banks, credit unions, and fintechs, which also provides fraud prevention products.
Q2 offers Centrix Positive Pay, an automated financial institution fraud prevention service that protects both check and ACH payments. For checks, it verifies issued items against a file provided by the business, flagging mismatches as exceptions before payment. For ACH, it provides monitoring, reporting, and controls to identify unauthorized or high-risk transactions. Together, these capabilities help ensure only authorized payments are processed. And while Positive Pay may seem like a no brainer, Kindschuh told Nacha’s Payments SmartCast podcast that many financial institutions “sell Positive Pay reactively” after fraud happens, or only when a customer asks for it.
Jordan Bennett, Nacha Senior Director, ACH Network Risk Management, agreed, noting that “customers always seem to be very happy to get on to services after” something bad happens. “But that’s the real challenge—trying to convince customers before an event happens that they need to do something.”
Bennett said Nacha’s Risk Management Advisory Group (RMAG) has talked about financial institutions making Positive Pay an “opt out” service, rather than “opt in,” which Bennett called “a fantastic idea.” Kindschuh said Q2 is starting to see more contracts which state that if the customer declines Positive Pay the business—not the bank—is on the hook for fraud.
Kindschuh believes financial institutions need to be proactive in getting customers on Positive Pay and helping them overcome any concerns about friction. Kindschuh believes sharing success stories could help, noting “it’s not ‘if’ but ‘when’ that fraud is going to occur.” But in the end, he said it’s time to “stop apologizing for fraud protection.”
“Businesses pay for insurance, security systems, compliance. This is no different.”
Much more was discussed, and you can listen to the complete podcast below.
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