• 5 minutes

Positive pay is used to generate an electronic list of checks that can be presented to a bank. Positive pay files can help banks prevent check fraud. You set up positive pay to generate an electronic list of checks every time that checks are printed. Then, when a check is presented to the bank, the bank compares the check with the list of checks that you previously submitted. If the check matches a check in the list, the bank clears it. If the check doesn't match a check in the list, the bank holds it for review.

Positive pay is also known as SafePay.

Security for positive pay files

Positive pay files can contain sensitive information about payees and check amounts. Therefore, make sure that you use appropriate security measures from the time that the files are generated until they are received by the bank.

Positive pay files are downloaded to the location that is specified by your web browser. Because positive pay files can contain sensitive information, it's important that only authorized users have access to generate and view this information in Finance. For more information, see the table in Set up and generate positive pay files to help you determine the privileges that are required.

You can generate positive pay files from Cash and bank management > Bank accounts > Bank accounts, on the Manage Payments Action Pane, in the Positive pay section. Select the Positive pay file button. Generate positive pay files for multiple legal entities and bank accounts using the Generate a positive pay file page.

Set up a positive pay format

Positive pay files are created by using data entities. Before you can generate a positive pay file, you must set up a transformation input format that will be used to translate the check information into a format that can communicate with the bank.

On the Positive pay format page, you can create a file format identifier and a description. The transformation input format must be of the XML type. The specific format depends on the transformation file that you're using. Use the Upload file used for transformation action to specify the location of the transform file for the format that your bank requires.

Assign the positive pay format to a bank account

For each bank account that you want to generate positive pay information for, you must assign the positive pay format that you specified in the previous section. On the Bank accounts page, select the positive pay format that corresponds to the bank account. In the Positive pay start date field, enter the first date to generate positive pay files.

Assign a number sequence for positive pay files

Each positive pay file must have a unique number. Use the Number sequences tab on the Cash and bank management parameters page to create a number sequence for positive pay files.

Generate a positive pay file for a single bank account

You can generate a positive pay file for a single legal entity and a single bank account.

To generate a positive pay file for a single legal entity and a single bank account, open the Generate a positive pay file dialog box from the Bank accounts page. In the Cut-off date field, enter the last check date to include in the positive pay file. All checks that haven’t been included in a positive pay file by the end of this check date are included in the file.

Generate a positive pay file for multiple bank accounts

To generate a positive pay file for multiple bank accounts, use the Generate a positive pay file periodic task. Select the positive pay format for the file and specify whether to generate the file for all legal entities or for a selected legal entity.

You can also generate the positive pay file for all bank accounts that use the specified positive pay format or for a selected bank account. In the Cut-off date field, enter the last check date to include in the positive pay file. All checks that haven’t been included in a positive pay file by the end of this check date are included in the file.

View the results of positive pay file generation

After the positive pay file is generated, you can view the results on the Positive pay file summary page. To view the details of the individual checks, use the Positive pay file details page.

View positive pay files on the Positive pay file summary page. You can view bank positive pay information for multiple legal entities. You can either confirm a bank positive pay file on the Positive pay file or Recall a bank positive pay file on the Positive pay file summary page.

Confirm a positive pay file

After the checks that are listed in a positive pay file have been paid, you receive a confirmation number from your bank. You can then confirm the positive pay file. On the Positive pay file summary page, select a positive pay file that has a status of Created, and then select the Enter confirmation action. When you confirm a positive pay file, the confirmation number that you received from the bank is recorded.

Recall a positive pay file

If you must change a positive pay file, you can recall it. On the Positive pay file summary page, select a positive pay file that has a status of Created, and then select the Recall action. For each check in the positive pay file, the field that indicates whether that check has been included in a positive pay file is reset. You can then create a new positive pay file that includes the check that was recalled.