Citizens Bank 2025 Payment Trends Survey: Businesses View Checks as “Less Susceptible” to Fraud
- Businesses need to be more aware of check fraud danger
- Pushing digital payments is not the answer
- Real-time fraud monitoring and AI are effective tools
While most financial institutions are aware that check payments are more susceptible to fraud, it appears that businesses do not share the same belief. We recently covered the 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report, noting that 63% of businesses were victims of attempted or successful check fraud. Now, we have additional data from Citizens Bank.
Citizens Bank has recently published findings from their 2025 Payment Trends report, surveying 315 small-to-mid size business leaders in March 2025. While the AFP reported 91% of business utilizing checks, the sample from Citizens Bank notes that only 47% of these business using checks.
The discrepancy can be attributed to the different demographics, but even with the smaller utilization of checks, one thing is clear: Check fraud remains a persistent threat. In fact, among those who experienced fraud, 53% say they use checks.
Businesses Believe Checks are Less Susceptible to Fraud
A key theme of the report is the misguided belief that checks are less somehow less susceptible to fraud. The report notes that, while some of the check utilization is driven by vendors, "quite a few do cite fraud as a reason why they stick with checks."
FIs need to understand this mindset, as they play a major role in educating their corporate clients. Many businesses believe that digital payments are most prone to fraud mainly because of speed -- faster payments, faster fraud. While true in the purest sense, that does not mean that "slower payments = less fraud." Additionally, many business do not understand how easily fraudsters can counterfeit or alter a check -- until it's too late.
Why Pushing to Digital Payments is NOT the Answer
While there are many benefits associated with adopting digital payments, this is not the answer to the fraud threat. Every payment channel is susceptible to fraud, and faster payments do equate to faster fraud -- and, often, irreversible and untraceable fraud. Both individual and business victims can see their entire bank account emptied with a click of a mouse.
Meanwhile, checks require windows of time before funds are available to fraudsters. And, having the right check fraud detection solutions can shield FIs and their clients.
The report notes that businesses can better protect themselves from fraud by leveraging a "multi-layered technology" approach for fraud:
Layer your fraud-mitigation tools in a best-practices approach. Companies who report less fraud are more commonly using real-time fraud monitoring and AI for customer authentication. Keep close track of the best practices and implement them in a layered strategy to protect your organization from fraud.
This includes ensuring that they leverage the tools available to them, verifying that their FIs are deploying image forensic AI and transactional analytics tools like payee Positive Pay.
Businesses will continue to utilize the payment channels with which they are most comfortable. It's up to FIs to accommodate their business partners to the best of their abilities while offering maximum protection from fraud.