Smarter fraud prevention. Faster payment decisions. All from one place.
Over 550 businesses trust 1st National Bank to keep their payments secure. See how Positive Pay puts you in control.
One Missed Red Flag Can Cost Your Business Thousands
A single fraudulent check or unauthorized ACH debit can drain your operating account before you even notice. And once funds leave, the recovery process is slow, stressful, and never guaranteed.
Most businesses only discover the problem after the damage is done. Altered check amounts slip through. Unauthorized electronic debits clear overnight. By the time your team catches it, you are already chasing lost money instead of running your business.
That is exactly the kind of risk Positive Pay is built to stop — before it reaches your bottom line.
Why Businesses Choose Positive Pay at 1st National Bank
Not all Positive Pay services are the same. At 1st National Bank, you get more than a fraud filter. You get a banking partner who helps you set it up, walks you through every feature, and stays available when you need support.
Here is what sets us apart.
A local banker guides your setup.
You are not filling out forms online and hoping for the best. A dedicated banker at your local branch walks you through onboarding, configures your preferences, and makes sure your team knows exactly how to use the system from day one.
Combined ACH and check monitoring in one view.
Many banks separate these into different platforms. With our Positive Pay service, you review ACH exceptions and check exceptions from a single dashboard. No switching between systems. No piecing together information from multiple logins.
Ongoing support from people who know your business.
When a question comes up three months from now, you are not calling a national hotline. You are reaching out to the same banking team that set you up. That kind of continuity matters when payments are on the line.
Who Positive Pay Is Built For
Positive Pay is designed for businesses where payment accuracy and fraud prevention directly affect daily operations.
Businesses that issue checks regularly. If your accounts payable team writes checks to vendors, contractors, or suppliers, Positive Pay verifies every check presented to the bank against your issued check records. Mismatched amounts, altered payee names, and counterfeit checks get flagged before they clear.
Businesses that manage ACH payments or recurring transactions. If your account receives electronic debits — from payroll processors, insurance providers, or vendor billing — ACH Positive Pay monitors those transactions and flags anything that does not match your authorized activity.
Businesses with high transaction volume. The more payments you process, the harder it becomes to catch irregularities manually. Positive Pay automates that monitoring so your team can focus on decisions, not detective work.
Businesses that handle sensitive financial operations. Medical practices, law firms, nonprofits, and government contractors often face strict compliance and fiduciary requirements. Positive Pay adds a structured layer of oversight that supports those obligations.
This may not be the right fit if your business processes fewer than 10 checks per month with no ACH activity. In that case, the cost may outweigh the benefit for your current volume. Talk with your banker about whether Positive Pay makes sense for where your business is today.
What You Get with Positive Pay
Catch Suspicious Transactions Before They Clear
Every check presented to the bank is compared against your issued check file. When the system finds a mismatch in the check number, dollar amount, or payee name, it flags the item as an exception. You review it and decide whether to pay or return it — before money leaves your account.
Make Faster, More Confident Decisions
Visual indicators highlight potential issues the moment you log in. Whether it is a mismatched payee or a discrepancy in the check amount, you can spot it immediately without digging through transaction history. Click any check number to view the front and back of the check image for instant verification.
Manage Everything from One Dashboard
ACH exceptions and check exceptions appear on the same screen. You see what is approved, what is flagged for return, and what is still pending — all in one place. No switching between systems or reconciling data across platforms.
Stay Ahead of Deadlines with Cutoff Reminders
The system sends reminders before decision cutoff times so you never miss a review window. Payments keep moving. Decisions stay on schedule. Your team avoids the delays that come from missed deadlines.
Save Time with Smart Approval Controls
When you approve a transaction, you can add the sender to your approved list for future payments. Set optional controls like start and end dates or a maximum amount per transaction. Over time, the system handles more routine decisions automatically while you maintain oversight on the exceptions that matter.
Managing Payments Without Positive Pay vs. With Positive Pay
| Without Positive Pay | With Positive Pay at 1st National Bank | |
|---|---|---|
| Fraud detection | Manual review after transactions clear | Automated matching before funds leave your account |
| Check verification | Relies on your team spotting irregularities | System flags mismatched check numbers, amounts, and payees |
| ACH monitoring | No visibility until statements arrive | Real-time exception alerts for unauthorized electronic debits |
| Decision speed | Days to identify and respond to issues | Same-day review and pay/return decisions from one dashboard |
| Tracking method | Spreadsheets, email threads, and manual reconciliation | Centralized dashboard with pending, approved, and returned status |
| Support | Self-service or call center | Local banker who knows your business and your setup |
Frequently Asked Questions About Positive Pay
Positive Pay focuses on check verification. It compares checks presented to the bank against your issued check records and flags mismatches. ACH Positive Pay monitors electronic transactions and flags unauthorized debits. At 1st National Bank, both are managed from the same dashboard, giving you combined visibility across check and ACH activity.
No. Only transactions flagged as exceptions require your attention. If a check matches your records or an ACH transaction is on your approved list, it processes normally. You only step in when something does not match, which keeps the process efficient while giving you control over the decisions that matter.
No fraud prevention system can guarantee complete protection. What Positive Pay does is give you the ability to review and stop suspicious transactions before they are finalized. It significantly reduces risk by catching mismatches that would otherwise go unnoticed until after funds have cleared.
Positive Pay is designed to speed up decisions, not delay them. Exception items appear on your dashboard with clear indicators and check images. Cutoff reminders keep you on schedule. Most businesses find that having a structured review process actually reduces delays compared to catching issues after the fact.
Setup is handled with your local banker at 1st National Bank. You are not configuring this on your own. Once it is running, the dashboard is straightforward — pending items, approved items, and returned items are all visible in one view. Over time, your approved sender list reduces the number of exceptions you need to review manually.
Get Started with Positive Pay at 1st National Bank
Every payment matters. With Positive Pay, you review exceptions before funds leave your account, make faster decisions from one dashboard, and work with a local banking team that supports you every step of the way.
Getting started takes one conversation.
Copyright © 2026 1st National Bank. All rights reserved. Terms and conditions apply. See Positive Pay Terms of Service or contact a banker for more details. Member FDIC.