Grand Rapids, MI - January, 2002
Counterfeit checks are easier than ever to produce and cash. Merchants are losing thousands of dollars to fraudsters using over-the-counter technology to make real looking checks. "We've seen a steady increase in counterfeit checks over the years," said Tom Duthler, owner of Duthler Family Food in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "We were getting stung more often and couldn't sustain the losses month after month." After a thorough search, Duthler's implemented BioPay's check cashing system to reduce fraud and "has been pleased ever since."
Duthler Family Foods has been serving the urban community for more than 11 years. They feature conventional items like vegetables, meat, dairy and dry goods. They also provide check cashing services to their customers, many of whom do not have regular bank accounts. Unfortunately, some customers try to cash fake checks. Luckily, since August, counterfeit check cashing has been reduced by more than 75%, a direct result of using the BioPay system.
BioPay's check cashing system uses an electronic fingerprint scanning device to capture a person's fingerprint and then associates a template of the fingerprint with the person's positive or negative check transaction history. The system can also help Duthler employees detect a counterfeit check. "If the system's MICR can't read the numbers on the check or the numbers don't match up to the bank, that's a pretty good indication the check is fake," Mr. Duthler explained. If a negative check transaction history is indicated or the check appears to be fake, the current transaction can be immediately cancelled. "The system has helped us keep profits that would have otherwise walked out the door with a bad transaction."
Before BioPay, to cash a check, a clerk simply made sure the information on the check matched what was on the customer's driver's license. There was no way to check the customer's check cashing history or tell if it was a good check. Now, with BioPay, "it's easier, faster and safer to cash a person's check," said Mr. Duthler. And, after a quick enrollment process, return customers need only use their fingerprint to initiate and complete future transactions.
The system has been so successful in reducing fraud that it's now Duthler store policy that to cash a check you have to enroll in the system. "If you don't want to enroll, then we don't want your business because, more than likely, you're trying to pass a bad check... at least that's what our experience has been," stated Mr. Duthler. "Honest customers love the system... it takes them under a minute to cash a check and be on their way."
There will always be fraudsters trying to find ways to cash counterfeit checks, but the BioPay system is a solid solution to eliminating the problem. "Cashing checks is a very profitable part of our business, and with the number of checks we cash every month BioPay just makes sense," concluded Mr. Duthler. "We're so pleased that we're rolling out the system to our other stores over the next two months."
