Now more than ever, businesses globally have become increasingly susceptible to financial fraud. From the growing threat of AI-enabled fraud, such as deepfake scams, these attempts threaten the financial security and integrity of any business, and when carried out, can lead to detrimental financial losses.
In fact, according to Medius' 2024 survey of U.S. finance professionals, 48% revealed they have been targeted by deepfake fraud, and 42% have fallen for deepfake scams. Amid a growing push toward digitization, however, businesses are increasingly adopting and leveraging innovative tools like machine learning and generative AI to keep pace with fraudsters. Yet, amid this push toward digitization still lies a growing threat to businesses as a result of the outdated payments processing systems many continue to use. The main culprit? The persistent use of traditional, outdated paper checks.
As reported in a 2025 survey by the Association for Financial Professionals, respondents citing the use of paper checks for payments surged to 91%, and a further 63% reported that their organizations faced check fraud in 2024. Counterfeit checks, forged signatures, check washing, and check theft are just some of the common types of fraud associated with the use of paper checks. In the age of digitization and the era of AI, why are businesses still making themselves vulnerable to these types of attacks, and how have digital payments evolved as a critical solution today?
Getting to the root cause of ongoing paper check use
As the traditional, all-too-familiar form of payment, the use of paper checks still remains an ongoing practice today. Despite their pain points — from longer processing times, risks of forgery, loss and theft, and higher processing costs — an overwhelming 75% of organizations still use paper checks, according to a 2024 report. Among some of the top reasons businesses continue to rely on traditional paper checks include familiarity, universality across businesses, and cost concerns surrounding other alternatives.
As a decades-long practice, familiarity with traditional paper checks remains a critical reason why businesses have yet to make the transition to digital payments. Intersected with familiarity is also the universality of paper checks on a global scale, whereas digital payments carry the risk of not being an accepted form of payment from businesses who have yet to evolve their own payment systems.
Digital payment systems for businesses
For every pain point associated with the use of traditional paper payments, digital payment systems offer an immediate solution in response. Digital payment systems serve as a cost-effective solution designed to collectively enhance fraud detection and prevention, improve customer and vendor experiences, and enhance overall operations. Embedded within digital payment systems are advanced security protocols — including encryption and multifactor authentication — critical for reducing the risk of fraud for businesses. Further, the benefits of real-time transaction processing and enhanced monitoring and alert capabilities also enable faster identification of potential fraud. A one-time investment in an advanced digital payment processing system also means that businesses no longer need to rely on added costs from printing and mailing checks and can rest assured that their payments will not be lost in the mail or potentially stolen or forged in the process.
With faster transaction processing, digital payments mean a more efficient payments process for both customers and vendors in the long term. While technology can be further enhanced and improved to meet the evolving needs of businesses, when it comes to reliance on traditional paper checks, there is little that can be done to entirely prevent fraud and theft from occurring. Businesses that solely rely on the use of outdated paper checks limit their ability to improve operational efficiency and leave their customers and vendors at an increased risk of being targeted by fraudsters.
Establishing a robust accounts payable audit trail is also made more efficient through the adoption of a digital payment system. Whereas finance teams relying on manual AP audit trails can face difficulties in tracking manual approvals or the risk of loss or destruction of paper documents, an automated AP audit trail enables businesses to better document, monitor and retrieve payment records, to both ensure compliance as well as enhance financial reporting.
In an era of economic uncertainty, rising costs and the growing threat of fraud, businesses are increasingly looking for new and innovative methods to scale up their operations. By evaluating the systems they currently have in place and making changes to update outdated and risk-driven processes, they can ensure an operating environment of security, efficiency and ongoing innovation. An automated digital payment system is just one method to not only address businesses' top challenges but also ensure companies are staying ahead of the curve in a growing push toward digital transformation.
