In Brief: Wachovia Introduces Check-Verify System

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wachovia Corp. has introduced a system that helps its tellers determine the authenticity of checks drawn on the accounts of its corporate customers.

The system is designed to reduce the liability of corporate customers, who increasingly have been held responsible for fraudulent checks when the courts determine that the company's failure to exercise ordinary care has contributed to the fraud, the banking company said.

Wachovia tellers enter a check's serial number and dollar amount to find out whether it has been issued by one of the 1,600 corporate customers using the system. This type of verification, known as positive pay, previously occurred only after a check began to be processed.

"We believe that as Wachovia and other banks implement teller-match positive pay, it will serve as a significant fraud deterrent," said David Saporito, disbursing product line manager for Wachovia Treasury Services.

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