OrboNation Newsletter: Check Processing and Fraud – September 2025
What We Learned at the OrboGraph Check Fraud Roundtable
OrboGraph has been bringing together financial institutions and technology providers to collaborate on the future of fraud prevention. Our most recent milestone — the eighth overall and third in-person Check Fraud Roundtable — took place last week in McLean, VA. The event brought together top financial crime technology providers and financial institutions ranging from top 10 banks in the USA to community banks and credit unions, gathered to discuss the most pressing challenges in today's check fraud landscape.
After asking their most pressing questions to the panelists, the audience and roundtable were able to learn more about the ABA National Check Verification System (NCVS) initiative from the American Bankers Association and Greenway Solutions.
The first day capped off with two work groups: Positive Pay and Deposit Fraud. Attendees were able to discuss the challenges of the solutions available, and what improvements are needed to combat fraudsters and schemes today and in the future.
Checks Still Reign: Why Small Banks Resist Zelle
A recent article in Banking Dive explores why many small banks are hesitant to join Zelle, the popular peer-to-peer payment platform owned by a consortium of seven major U.S. banks (including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo). While Zelle has made notable inroads—adding 178 banks and credit unions in late 2024 and early 2025, reaching about 2,300 U.S. financial institutions—that still amounts to only a little over a quarter of the approximately 8,800 federally insured banks and credit unions nationwide.
Positive Pay Workgroup at OrboGraph Check Fraud Roundtable Addresses Industry Challenges
Despite massive advances in fraud-prevention technology, check fraud continues to siphon billions from businesses each year, with fraudsters performing feats of deception reminiscent of the greatest magicians—only with far costlier consequences and far less entertainment value. However, as highlighted in the August 28, 2025, edition of the BID Daily Newsletter, the parallels between master illusionists like Dai Vernon and today's check fraudsters are more than skin-deep: both rely on misdirection, but for vastly different ends.
From Siloed to Shared: The Consortium Approach to Battling Check Fraud
In today’s banking environment, the threat of check fraud is growing rapidly, fueled by a deluge of data and ever-evolving criminal schemes. Financial institutions (FIs) face mounting pressure as legacy payment systems and digital channels are exploited by fraudsters, while stricter oversight and shrinking access to government data make combating deposit fraud even more challenging. As highlighted in a recent PYMTS blog post, traditional security alone isn’t enough—collaboration and smarter use of collective intelligence are essential.
Quinte Financial Technologies and OrboGraph Partner to Modernize Check Fraud Detection and Case Management for Financial Institutions
Burlington, MA, September 8, 2025 – Quinte Financial Technologies, a trusted partner empowering banks and credit unions to excel in the digital era through intelligent domain-driven automation and cloud-based solutions, has entered into a strategic alliance with OrboGraph, a leading provider of AI-powered check fraud detection and image recognition technologies. Together, they will deliver an advanced, end-to-end check fraud management solution for financial institutions.
This partnership combines OrboGraph’s proven fraud detection with Quinte’s intelligent case management platform, CaseHUB, creating a modern, end-to-end solution, confronting the growing threat of check fraud. This joint system is currently deployed at a regional bank, preventing over $5M in check fraud attempts annually, detecting nearly 100% of fraud attempts.
Joe Gregory, Chief Strategy Officer at OrboGraph, stated, “By integrating OrboGraph’s advanced detection into CaseHUB, institutions gain a seamless, best-of-breed solution that elevates both accuracy and operational efficiency in fighting check fraud.”
Why Pushing for RTP is NOT the Answer to Check Fraud
When it comes to payment fraud, fear and reality aren’t always aligned—a fact highlighted in the August 2025 report from PYMNTS Intelligence and The Clearing House, “Fact vs. Fiction in Real-Time Payments Fraud.” The central message? Banks are significantly more concerned about security risks in real-time payments than the data justifies.
CI-FIRST Initiative Brings Clarity to Check Fraud SARs
In the ongoing battle against financial crime -- particularly check fraud -- new initiatives and systems are promising to reshape an industry that has long struggled with reactive, fragmented responses.
A recent story from the Thomson Reuters Institute spotlights the emergence of CI-FIRST—an initiative by IRS Criminal Investigation—as a critical development with the potential to clarify, modernize, and ultimately make more effective the use of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in fighting financial crime.
Regulatory Roadblocks: Why Agentic AI Faces Unique Challenges in Banking
As financial institutions gravitate toward innovative automations like agentic AI, the allure of “zero operations”—where everyday banking processes run themselves—appears within reach. Yet, according to Biswajit Das in his recent Forbes Technology Council post, regulatory and compliance hurdles remain the most formidable barriers, casting serious doubt on the suitability of agentic AI for banking’s uniquely high-stakes environment.
Federal Reserve Begins “Technical Research” Into Payment Modernization Technology
PAYMENTS DIVE reports that the Federal Reserve is making strides towards embracing financial technology (fintech) innovations like tokenization, smart contracts, and especially artificial intelligence (AI) within payment systems.
Christopher Waller, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and potential candidate for chairman, highlighted the Fed's ongoing “technical research” into these technologies during his speech at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium. Waller’s core message: Engagement with industry innovators is crucial as the lines between traditional finance and digital assets blur.
Singapore’s Efforts to Eliminate Corporate Paper Checks — Will Results Mirror Other Countries?
Back on July 28, 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the elimination of corporate cheques (checks) by the end of 2025. This announcement came with an aggressive timeline, which was amended back in December of 2024, where banks would stop issuing new checkbooks to corporates by December 31, 2025 and cease processing of corporate checks on December 31, 2026.
RTP Adoption Hindered by Fear of Fraud
Widespread anxiety about fraud is hindering the full-scale adoption of real-time payments (RTP) in the U.S., according to a recent analysis by PYMNTS.
Many financial institutions (FIs), especially large banks, limit their participation in real-time networks to receive-only service, citing fears that fraud will surge as payment speed increases. In fact, 85% of payment professionals surveyed expect fraud rates to rise as RTP usage expands.