Federal government will phase out paper checks next month

The Treasury Department announced that the federal government will stop issuing paper checks for most federal payments on Sept. 30. Treasury said the few people who still receive a federal benefit check must switch to an electronic payment method.

Background: President Donald Trump in March issued an executive order that said that all federal payments that are currently made by paper check will be made electronically by Sept. 30. The Treasury Department in June announced it was seeking public input on its plans to transition federal disbursements to electronic payments.

ICBA Support: ICBA in March applauded the Trump administration for working to combat the threat of check fraud by addressing the Treasury Department’s use of paper checks.

Treasury Check Resource: Amid a dramatic rise in check fraud, ICBA has encouraged community banks to use the Treasury Department’s Treasury Check Verification System to catch canceled, duplicate, or other problematic Treasury checks at the time of presentment.

Check Fraud Partnership: ICBA’s partnership with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service includes a customizable news release via ICBA’s Marketing Resource Center.

Additional ICBA Resources: The ICBA website features additional community banker resources on fraud and scams, including ICBA’s guides on check fraud and online fraud courses. Meanwhile, the Fraud subgroup on ICBA Community includes more than 1,000 members dedicated to discussing fraud.