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How to create a positive pay file?

This article discusses how to prevent check fraud by creating a Positive Pay file.

Positive Pay for The Mortgage Office® is a powerful, yet very simple process in check fraud prevention. While each bank may utilize Positive Pay in slightly different ways, the general idea is universal:

Upon completion of a check run, a company prepares a "checks issued" data file (including check number, amount and date, as well as other bank and account information) and transmits this data to their bank. Voided, Rejected, Cancelled and Manual checks can also be included in the file.

When checks are presented for payment against an account protected by Positive Pay, the check information is compared to the "checks issued" file. Checks presented for payment that fail to match with checks issued by the company are rejected. The bank then presents a list of "suspect checks" to the company for "pay/no pay" decisions. These “suspect checks” need to be resolved before the bank authorizes payment. The company may reject any checks it believes to be fraudulent.

To create a Positive Pay file:

  • Click the users Trust Accounts drop-down in the left panel of The Mortgage Office®.
  • From the list of Trust Accounts that are listed, select the trust account drop-down to bank the deposit from.  
  • From that drop-down, click All. 
    • You can also click any one of the client names under All to make the deposit directly from a client's ledger. 
  • From the grid, click action from the options available on top panel to display a list of available actions and select wallet Create Positive Pay File.
  • In the Create Positive Pay File assistant, enter the following information:
Field: Description:
Select Trust Account Select a Trust Account from the drop-down menu.
Select Date Range

Enter the starting and ending dates to determine which transactions are included in the file.

TIP: You won't be able to proceed to the next step until valid dates are entered.
Select File Format

Select a file format from the drop-down list that matches your bank's requirements.

TIPS:

  • Unlike ACH transactions, there is not a standard Positive Pay file format. Each bank has its own file format, so it is important that you select a format supported by your bank.
    • The Mortgage Office® may not have an "out of the box" format that matches your bank’s requirements. If your bank’s format is not already included in the drop-down list, please contact ABS support at 800-833-0115 or support@absnetwork.com, as most formats are easily added.
  • You won't be able to proceed to the next step until a file format has been selected.
Blue Check Box_r Exclude checks with empty payee name Check this box to Exclude checks that do not contain a payee name.
  • Click NEXT in blue boxNext.
  • The grid is populated with transactions matching the criteria selected in the previous step.
  • Transactions must also meet the following criteria to be included on the list:
    • Printed or handwritten checks
    • Non ACH
    • Unreconciled
    • Check amount must not be negative or zero
    • By default, all transactions are selected, but you may include or exclude individual transactions from the Positive Pay file by checking or unchecking the box blank check box on the left.

    TIPS:

    • Use the Select All and Clear All hyperlinks near the bottom of the window to mass check or uncheck all transactions on the list.
    • Click Export to Excel to export all transactions on the list to Microsoft Excel.

    NOTE: You won't be able to proceed to the next step unless one or more transactions are selected.

    • Click NEXT in blue boxNext.
    • Enter information into the following fields, if necessary:
    Field: Description:
    Bank Number Enter a 4-digit bank number. This value is not required by all banks.
    Blue Check Box_r Create Attachments Select this option to attach a copy of this Positive Pay file to the Trust Account record. To learn more see Attachments.
    Tab Use the drop-down to select the tabs you wish to save the report under in the Attachments. 
    • Click Preview Report with wording and button border Preview Report to open a print preview window.
      • Click here to learn more about print preview windows. 
    • Click Download with wording and button border Download to generate and automatically download the report to your computer's Downloads folder.
    • Click Finish Finish when done or CANCEL Cancel to abort the transaction.

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