Positive Pay — TD Bank, N.A.

Positive Pay from TD Bank, N.A. is a comprehensive fraud prevention and cash-management solution designed to protect businesses from check and ACH payment fraud. Built for organizations of all sizes, Positive Pay helps you detect unauthorized or altered payments before funds leave your account, streamline reconciliation, and reduce operational risk through automated controls and flexible exception handling.

Core Features

• Check Positive Pay: Compare issued check details (check number, account number, issue date, payee, and dollar amount) against presented checks to identify discrepancies and potential forgeries.
• ACH Positive Pay / ACH Debit Filters: Screen incoming ACH debits against pre-approved originator lists or transaction files, enabling you to accept, reject, or review ACH entries based on predefined rules.
• Automated Matching: Automatic matching of issued items with presented items reduces manual review workload and accelerates exception resolution.
• Real-Time Exception Alerts: Receive immediate notifications when presented items do not match issued items or pre-approved ACH criteria, allowing rapid decision-making.
• Exception Management Console: A centralized web interface to review, validate, and release or return exceptions, with the ability to add notes, attach documentation, and route items for approval.
• Custom Rules and Thresholds: Configure tolerances and rules that reflect your internal controls — for instance, acceptable variance amounts, authorized payees, or blocked check ranges.
• Dual-Check and Dual-Approval Options: Support for multi-user approval workflows to enforce segregation of duties and reduce insider risk.
• Integration and File Formats: Supports industry-standard file formats for seamless integration with accounting systems, payroll providers, and treasury platforms.
• Detailed Reporting and Audit Trails: Comprehensive logs and exportable reports for reconciliation, internal audit, and regulatory compliance.

How It Works

Positive Pay operates by matching the details of checks and ACH transactions presented for payment against information you provide to the bank. For checks, you submit a file of checks you have issued — including check numbers, amounts, and payee names. When a check is presented for payment, the system compares the presented item to your issued-file and flags mismatches as exceptions. For ACH, you can pre-authorize known originators or submit expected debit files; incoming debits are screened and flagged if they do not meet the established criteria.

Benefits

• Fraud Reduction: Significantly lower the risk of losses from counterfeit, altered, or unauthorized payments.
• Operational Efficiency: Automate the matching process and reduce time spent on manual reconciliation and research.
• Improved Cash Visibility: Faster resolution of exceptions contributes to more accurate cash forecasting and liquidity management.
• Stronger Internal Controls: Built-in workflows and approval requirements help enforce policies and maintain segregation of duties.
• Audit and Compliance Support: Maintain detailed records and reports to support audits and regulatory obligations.

Implementation and Onboarding

TD Bank’s implementation process for Positive Pay is structured to minimize disruption and to align the solution with your treasury and accounting practices. Key steps typically include:

1. Requirements review and selecting modules (check, ACH, or both).
2. Configuration of rules, tolerance thresholds, user roles, and approval workflows.
3. File-format setup and systems integration for secure transmission of issued-item files.
4. Testing and parallel runs to validate matching logic and exception processes.
5. Training for users on the exception management console and reporting tools.

Best Practices

• Regularly Upload Issued Files: Timely and accurate issue-file submissions maximize detection capability.
• Define Clear Approval Paths: Establish decision-makers for exceptions and document escalation criteria.
• Limit Access: Enforce least-privilege access and use dual controls for high-risk actions.
• Monitor and Tune Rules: Periodically review exception patterns and adjust thresholds to balance control and workflow efficiency.
• Integrate with ERP: Where possible, integrate Positive Pay with your accounting/payroll systems to automate population of payee and payment data.

Security and Compliance

Positive Pay is a risk-reduction tool that complements your broader security and compliance framework. It supports segregation of duties, provides immutable audit trails, and helps meet due diligence expectations for fraud prevention. TD Bank, N.A. implements security measures around data transmission and user authentication to safeguard payment information and access to the exception management platform. Organizations should continue to maintain internal policies for check issuance, signing authorities, and vendor onboarding to achieve end-to-end protection.

Reporting and Analytics

The product delivers a suite of reports and analytics to help treasury and finance teams monitor activity and evaluate program effectiveness. Typical outputs include daily exception lists, trend reports showing exception types and volumes, and reconciliation reports tying issued and paid items together. These reports can be exported for internal analysis or to support audit inquiries.

Who Should Use Positive Pay?

Positive Pay is appropriate for any organization that issues checks or regularly receives ACH debits and seeks to mitigate payment fraud and streamline reconciliation. It is particularly valuable for businesses with high payment volumes, complex vendor landscapes, or heightened regulatory and audit requirements.

Summary

TD Bank, N.A.’s Positive Pay delivers a practical, configurable layer of defense against check and ACH fraud while improving operational efficiency and control. By automating matching and exception workflows, providing robust reporting, and enabling configurable approval processes, the solution helps businesses protect working capital, maintain stronger internal controls, and enhance overall treasury effectiveness.

Address Bank: Cherry Hill, New Jersey, United States
Bank: TD Bank, N.A.
Headquarters: Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Products: Payments & Treasury
Type: Positive Pay