Preserve cash by protecting your business from fraud, scams and cybercrime

Part of optimizing your business’s liquidity strategy is protecting your assets from scammers, hackers, and other criminal actors. Business owners may not realize that fraud and cybercrime present a far greater threat to their commercial banking deposits than, for example, bank failures. The FDIC insures bank deposits up to $250,000 and steps in as the receiver to collect assets and settle the debts of a failed bank¹. But losses from check fraud, which are not FDIC insured, are estimated to reach $24 billion this year².

As you evaluate and update your liquidity strategy, make sure that your vetting process for new banking relationships and accounts includes a focus on security. At minimum, your bank should have a process for reviewing account security and investigating steps to combat fraud. And when it comes to cybercrime, responsiveness can mean the difference between a mild inconvenience and a major breach. When a client does experience fraud, KeyBank mobilizes systems and processes that help thwart the criminal and resume normal operations as quickly as possible.

Tools that KeyBank employs to protect against fraud and cybercrime include:

• Positive Pay and Payee Positive Pay

Positive Pay is an automated service that compares a check presented for payment to a list of issued checks provided by the payor. Information on the list includes the dollar amount, check number, date, account number and, in some cases, the name of the payee. If the information on the check doesn’t match the data on the list, the check is rejected.

• ACH Direct

ACH Direct (accessible through KeyNavigator) enables authorized individuals to make decisions on pending transactions, search and manage existing authorization records, and create new authorization records.

• Dual Authorization

Dual Authorization requires that two people approve and complete a transaction, such as a wire payment or ACH transfer. One person is responsible for initiating the request, while a second person reviews and authorizes the transaction.

These tools are just a few examples of the way KeyBank partners with business clients to combat threats of fraud and cybercrime. To learn more or to speak to one of our experts, visit key.com/cybersecurity.