What We Learned at the OrboGraph Check Fraud Roundtable
- OrboGraph hosted its third Check Fraud Roundtable
- Financial institutions and tech providers gathered to discuss today's check fraud landscape
- The event included hands-on "check counterfeiting lessons" to expand knowledge
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, held in Mclean, VA, 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.
Check Fraud Roundtable Experience
The OrboGraph Check Fraud Roundtable kicked off by engaging the audience with deep industry knowledge from industry thought-leaders:
- Chip Kohlweiler, Navy Federal Credit Union
- Jim Hitchcock, American Bankers Association
- Steve Cree, The Clearing House
- Susan Blackburn, Viewpointe
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.
Day 2 of the Roundtable focused on financial institutions, where Michele Barlow provided a deep dive in UCC, Warranties, and indemnities for checks and check fraud, followed up by FIs reviewing the notes and call-to-actions for both workgroups.
The Roundtable ended with an overview of the evolving check fraud landscape, along with videos showing how digital counterfeit checks are created. A check-washing station provided FIs a hands-on check-washing experience.
Check Fraud Roundtable Detailed Agenda -- Download PDF Version
What We Learned from the Check Fraud Roundtable
The roundtable brought invaluable insights from both check fraud solution providers and financial institutions. Here is what we learned in a nutshell:
- Deposit fraud is the most pressing challenge for financial institutions: Deposit fraud is a unique challenge, as the bank of first deposit knows virtually nothing about the paying account (unless they are the same institution). While consortiums provide valuable transactional and historic data from the paying account, there is a strong need to verify whether the physical check is altered or a counterfeit.
- Check fraud technology providers and banking associations are tirelessly working to overcome challenges: Attendees were given a firsthand look at some of the solutions being developed, including the NCVS and a new approach announced at the roundtable -- a formal announcement and details coming soon!
- Positive Pay needs enhancements: Standard Positive Pay is not enough -- payee matching is crucial. Should FIs make it mandatory for commercial accounts to utilize Positive Pay? Should customers be required to a sign a waiver, putting the risk on the customer if they do not adopt the solution?
- Firsthand experience: Before the roundtable, it's safe to say that the majority of attendees had never seen a check counterfeited in real-time or washed a check. This highlights a need for increased training and materials for FIs.
The next roundtable will be held in Q1 of 2026 (virtual), while the next in-person event occurs in H2 of 2026. If you would like to participate, please email marketing@orbograph.com.