Retailers Zone

Photo Checks Create New Layer of Protection

February 25th, 2009

In a world filled with electronic funds and automated payments, isn’t it nice to be able to receive a few simple checks every now and then. While credit cards and payment fob’s seem to be taking over face-to-face transaction methods, and debit cards and electronic transfers are the standard for all ecommerce purchases, there seems to be no room for personal checks in the world of payment. However, the consumers who have flocked to the usage of modern payment options have left one very crucial component to fade into history; the security features that only a check can offer.

When a people order checks, they are standing up for their right to make secure payments, regardless of the medium with which those payments are made. The first layer of protection comes from the physical features located on checks. These features include watermarks etched into the paper, thermal ink that reacts to body temperature, fluorescent inks that react to UV lighting, metallic inks that are read by magnetic scanners, micro printing, and special dichromatic inks that require a license to own the equipment that produces them. However, even with all these marvelously high-tech features, checks have an even more important piece of information on them: the name and address of the account holder.

For something as simple as three to four lines of information, the account holder data can stop a criminal dead in his tracks, all because he doesn’t have an ID that matches. The fact that the owner has to write out the amounts, name of the recipient, and place a signature on the check only add to the amount protection offered by personal checks. By adding a personal touch, such as handwriting, banks can research checks to verify that the owner did in fact make a payment using that check.

Additionally, when you order checks, it is possible to add yet another layer of personality and individualism, and all it takes is a personal photograph. Photo checks are the definitive form of individualism as they allow consumers to add children, pets, favorite cars, or any other picture as a background to their personal checks. Since most cashiers will strike up a conversation about things like this, it affords a different type of protection: one of knowledge. How can the criminal posing as you pay with your checks when he has no clue who the children in the picture are or why they seem to be so happy at that specific park?

There is no such security feature found on credit cards and even fewer found when placing electronic transactions, yet consumers consistently look for convenience over security. Although, how inconvenient is writing a few lines of information and tearing a piece of paper out of a book?

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