retail establishments, and more for companies that do checks by phone sales, monthly check drafting, monthly billing via ACH and online sales. It reduces the number of bad payments that are deposited due to human error, fraud or account status. Merchant funds verification Often called "verifying funds" or "merchant funds verification", it was common practice until the mid-2000s that any business or individual could call the bank where the check was drawn and ask for check verification. The bank would ask for the account number, the name on the check, the amount and the check number and just look up the account. Due to banks issuing privacy policies designed to protect identity and fraud, telephone merchant funds verification by calling the bank directly is now rare for any bank or credit union to offer this service. Some banks still offer merchant funds verification, while others are limiting the information they will provide to telling you if the account is open with a positive balance, only. Other banks provide this service as a pay-per-call, or offer bank validation for a fee. The majority of banks do not provide any direct telephone account verification. Routing number verification Yet another form of check verification is to cross reference the ABA routing transit number, also called the Routing Number or ABA Number, with the bank to check against the actual item being presented. The routing number verification can provide the bank's name, address for processing, and phone number. Some routing number verification systems use an algorithm to validate the routing number, rather than cross reference the results in a database. Routing number verification is limited to verifying the bank name, address and phone number and cannot determine if the checking account is valid of perform funds verification. It can be valuable in locating fraudulent checks or drafts, and in getting contact information for the bank for merchant funds verification or account validation. Using the bank phone number, a business can attempt merchant funds verification if the bank offers the service. Third-party suppliers Third-party companies based in the United States that offer check verification include: CheckVelocity, Inc. www.checkvelocity.com Profituity, LLC www.profituity.com Forte Payment Systems Certegy Check21.com Check Plus Systems ChexSystems CheckVerification.com CrossCheck Early Warning services Sage Payment Solutions EFT TeleCheck Regional Adjustment Bureau See also ACH Network Cheque guarantee card References External links Online Check Verification How Does ACH Risk Management & Check Verification Work?