Check Payments and Alternatives Remain Attractive Fraud Targets

Check use is declining. The adoption of alternative payments forms, such as debit and ACH, has steadily increased over the past decade, with a swift uptick in digital payments forms like peer-to-peer and digital wallet transactions occurring over the past three years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But none of these payments forms is immune to fraud. Still, check fraud continues to overshadow the declining use of this antiquated form. And many consumers and businesses alike continue to use checks because of their perceived convenience, reliability, sustainability, and, shockingly enough, security relative to more modern payments forms. With financial institutions left holding the bag, however, for growing fraud risks associated with check payments, the financial services industry is hitting a tipping point.