X9 Creates New Open Forum Focused on Reducing Check Fraud

The Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. (X9) today announced that it has launched an Industry Forum on the topic of reducing check fraud, open to anyone in the financial services industry.

The purpose of the X9 Check Fraud Industry Forum is to provide an open roundtable forum for the check payments industry to enable discussion on check fraud, fraud deterrents and prevention techniques, and the content of X9’s influential Technical Report # 8 (TR 8) on check security.

The goal of the new group is to create awareness of possible ways to avoid check fraud and help the check payments industry minimize risk. Its findings will be added to TR 8 and disseminated to the industry. The group plans to have its kickoff meeting online at 1 p.m. Eastern time on April 16.

An X9 industry forum is a group of industry representatives who can provide a comprehensive perspective on a particular issue. An X9 industry forum may include members from different industries that play different roles regarding the issue. The forum may include both members and non-members of X9, and it will be managed by X9. A forum is not authorized to develop standards. Participation is free of charge, and requests to join can be made on the X9 website.

Although checks are no longer the only means of making payments, or even the most popular means, the volume of check use in the United States is higher than in most other countries. Billions of checks are still written every year, collectively worth trillions of dollars, and they offer a fertile field for malfeasance. For example, organized scammers can use sophisticated software with commercial-grade printers and scanners to produce counterfeit checks that they then palm off on unsuspecting businesses and individuals. Banks may not reimburse consumers who are caught by one of these fraudulent schemes, if the consumer has been negligent or involved in the scam. X9 has a 50-year history of developing standards that govern what is printed on checks, making the organization the logical choice to drive a fraud-reducing initiative.

“Cutting back on fraud in the use of checks for payment obviously benefits all involved – the individuals and businesses who are the victims as well as the banks that are the unwitting venues for criminals’ activities,” said X9 Executive Director Steve Stevens. “X9 has been a leader in check management for decades, starting with the creation of machine-readable numbering and continuing with the conversion of checks into digital images.

“We want our forum to be a prolific source for new techniques to recognize and prevent future check fraud, and to ameliorate its effects. If you have expertise or interest in this area, please register and join us.”

About the Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc.

The Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. is a non-profit organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop and maintain national and – through ISO — international standards for the financial services industry. The subjects of X9’s standards include: retail, mobile and business payments; corporate treasury functions; block chain technology; processing of electronic legal orders issued to financial institutions; tracking of financial transactions and instruments; financial transaction messaging (ISO 8583 and 20022); quantum computing; AI, X9 PKI; checks; cloud; data breach notification and more.

X9 acts as the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for ISO TC68 (Financial) and performs the secretariat functions for ISO TC68. Please visit our website (www.x9.org) for more information.