Positive Pay System
✓ Last verified 14 Sep 2026
The short version
Positive Pay requires re-confirming a cheque's key details (amount, payee, date) electronically with the bank before it's presented for payment above a threshold - a fraud-prevention step that catches altered or forged cheques before they clear.
For cheques above a certain value, the issuer submits the cheque's key details (amount, date, payee name) to the bank electronically in advance - when the cheque is physically presented for clearing, the bank cross-checks it against these submitted details, and any mismatch flags it before payment. This closes a real fraud gap where a cheque's amount or payee could otherwise be altered after it left the issuer's hands, and is now a standard, often mandatory safeguard for larger cheque payments.
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