Positive Pay
Positive Pay is a control that helps you prevent unexpected payment activity from affecting your account. Instead of treating every payment request as automatically valid, Positive Pay lets you define what “allowed” looks like ahead of time — and blocks anything outside of that.
This guide walks through how Positive Pay works across the most common payment types:
For programmatic setup and configuration, refer to the Positive Pay API
Positive Pay feature is not enabled by default. Please contact Unit if you would like to enable this functionality.
ACH Debit and Credit
Overview
ACH transactions are the everyday bank movements that run most businesses — things like payroll, vendor payments, customer refunds, subscription charges, loan payments, and utility withdrawals.
ACH Positive Pay is a control that helps you prevent unexpected ACH activity from posting to your account. Instead of treating every ACH debit or credit as automatically valid, Positive Pay lets you define what “allowed” looks like ahead of time — and blocks anything outside of that.
How it works
When an ACH transaction is sent to your account, Unit receives the incoming ACH details from the Federal Reserve. Each incoming ACH includes identifying information about the sender and the payment, such as:
- Who it’s from (
companyNamefrom ACH Received Payment)? - A more reliable sender identifier (
originatorEntityIdfrom ACH Received Payment) - How much money is moving (
amountfrom ACH Received Payment))?
When ACH Positive Pay is enabled, Unit checks each incoming ACH debit or credit against the rules you’ve approved in advance.
What gets blocked automatically?
Incoming ACH transactions are automatically returned if they don’t pass these checks:
- Is this ACH coming from an allowed sender? Unit verifies the sender based on the Company Name and/or Company Identification you approved.
- Is the amount within the allowed limit? Unit verifies the ACH amount is less than or equal to the maximum amount you set for that approved sender.
If either check fails, the transaction is returned — helping prevent fraud, surprises, and incorrect withdrawals or deposits from hitting your account.
Why this matters day-to-day?
ACH Positive Pay is especially useful for teams that want tighter control over cash movement without manually reviewing every transaction. It helps protect you from:
Unauthorized vendor or subscription withdrawals
Example: Your company, Northwind Logistics, uses HubSpot and AWS. One day, an ACH debit shows up labeled “Cloud Services LLC” for $1,250 — it looks like a SaaS charge, but nobody on the team recognizes it. It turns out a corporate card or bank info was compromised and used to set up a recurring ACH debit.
How Positive Pay helps: Since “Cloud Services LLC” (or its Company ID) wasn’t pre-approved, Unit returns the debit before it posts.
Unexpected “new” payees debiting your account
Example: Brightlane Health changes payroll providers from Gusto to ADP. A week later, an ACH debit comes in from “ADP PaybyACH” for $96,000 (their payroll pull). Finance hasn’t yet added ADP to the approved list, so this debit is unexpected—even if it’s legitimate.
How Positive Pay helps: The debit is
returneduntil Finance explicitly approves ADP as an allowed sender (and sets an amount limit).
Incorrect or suspicious amounts
Example: Cedar & Stone Manufacturing pays monthly insurance premiums via ACH debit to Blue Horizon Insurance. The premium is normally $18,400, but this month the debit comes through for $184,000 due to a billing error (extra zero), or because the originator submitted the wrong amount.
How Positive Pay helps: If the Positive Pay rule caps Blue Horizon Insurance at (say) $25,000, Unit returns the debit automatically — preventing a major cash disruption.
Operational mistakes (wrong sender / wrong company identifier)
Example: Harborview Retail is expecting a monthly ACH credit from PayPilot for marketplace payouts. PayPilot migrates its payout flow to a new bank partner, so the ACH credit arrives under a different originator (different Company Name / Company Identification) than usual. The payment is legitimate — but it’s coming from an unexpected sender.
How Positive Pay helps: Since the sender doesn’t match the approved Positive Pay rule, Unit returns the credit until Finance updates the rule to include the new approved originator.
Amount logic
An ACH Positive Pay rule lets you define a maximum allowed amount using the amount attribute.
A received ACH payment is accepted if:
payment_amount ≤ rule_max_amount
If the payment exceeds the maximum amount, it is returned.
Decision examples
| Incoming ACH | Originator Match? | Amount Valid? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll debit from known originator | Yes | Within limit | Accepted |
| Debit from unknown originator | No | — | Returned |
| Credit from known partner | Yes | Within limit | Accepted |
| Credit above rule max | Yes | Above limit | Returned |
Rule statuses
- Active — Currently matches and evaluates items
- Expired — Passed its expiration date and no longer applies
- Cancelled — Manually disabled
Check Payments
Overview
Checks are still used for everyday business payments — things like vendor invoices, rent, contractor payments, and one-off reimbursements. But checks also come with classic fraud and error risks: stolen checks, altered amounts, and checks your team never issued.
Check Positive Pay is a control that helps you prevent unexpected check activity from clearing your account. Instead of treating every check presented for payment as automatically valid, Positive Pay lets you define what “allowed” looks like ahead of time — and returns anything outside of that.
How it works
When a check is deposited at another financial institution, the depositing bank sends check details through the Federal Reserve. Unit receives the incoming check information in an X9 file.
Each presented check includes key details such as:
Check Number — The serial number printed on the check (the
checkNumberfrom Check Payment)Amount — The dollar value of the check (the
amountfrom Check Payment)
When Check Positive Pay is enabled, Unit checks each presented check against the issued checks you’ve pre-registered on the account.
What gets returned automatically?
Presented checks are automatically returned if they don’t pass these checks:
Is this a check you actually issued? Unit verifies the check number and account number refer to a pre-registered check.
Does the amount match the pre-registered check? Unit verifies the amount presented matches the check you approved.
If either check fails, the check is returned — helping prevent fraud, surprises, and incorrect withdrawals from hitting your account.
Why this matters day-to-day?
Check Positive Pay is especially useful for teams that still issue checks but want tighter controls without manual monitoring. It helps protect you from stolen checks, counterfeit checks, and processing mistakes — all of which can cause unexpected withdrawals and time-consuming disputes.
Catching an altered check before it clears
Example: Juniper Office Supply Co. pays vendors by check every Friday. Their AP team issues a check to Bayview Packaging for $4,860 (check #1842) and registers that check number and amount in Positive Pay. A few days later, the check is deposited — but the presented check shows #1842 for $48,600 (an extra zero), likely due to check theft and alteration.
How Positive Pay helps: Unit receives the presented check details and compares them to the pre-registered check. Since the check number matches but the amount does not, the check is
returnedand never clears the account.
Preventing an unexpected check from clearing
Example: Harborview Property Management keeps a checkbook for occasional contractor payments. Someone gets access to an old check image (or stolen checks) and creates a counterfeit check using Harborview’s account details. A check is later deposited for $2,300, using a check number that Harborview never issued and never registered in Positive Pay.
How Positive Pay helps: Unit checks whether the check number + account number match a pre-registered issued check. Since no Positive Pay rule exists for it, the check is automatically
returned, preventing an unauthorized withdrawal.
Catching deposit mistakes early
Example: Maple & Main Catering issues a check to reserve a venue for an event and registers the issued check in Positive Pay. When the venue deposits it, their bank’s deposit process reads the check number incorrectly (for example due to a scan/transcription error), so the check is presented with the wrong check number.
How Positive Pay helps: Because the presented check details don’t match the pre-registered check, Unit returns it. The venue can then re-deposit the check with the correct details.
Amount logic
A Check Positive Pay rule treats the rule amount as the expected check amount.
A presented check is accepted if within ±$1 tolerance of the expected amount.
If the presented amount is outside the tolerance, the check is returned.
Decision examples
| Incoming check | Check Number Match? | Amount Valid? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check #1842 (written for $4,860.00) presented for $4,860.00 | Yes | Within ±$1 tolerance | Accepted |
| Check #1842 (written for $4,860.00) presented for $4,860.50 | Yes | Within ±$1 tolerance | Accepted |
| Check #1842 (written for $4,860.00) presented for $48,600.00 | Yes | Outside tolerance | Returned |
| Check presented with a check number not pre-registered | No | — | Returned |
Rule statuses
- Active — Currently matches and evaluates items
- Expired — Passed its expiration date and no longer applies
- Cancelled — Manually disabled
Wire Drawdowns
Overview
Wire drawdowns are often used in business relationships where a vendor, lender, or partner is authorized to pull funds under agreed terms — for example, loan advances, credit facilities, escrow releases, or large vendor settlements.
Wire Drawdown Positive Pay is a control that helps you prevent unexpected or unauthorized drawdowns from being processed. Instead of treating every drawdown request as automatically valid, Positive Pay lets you define what “allowed” looks like ahead of time — and requires the drawdown to match an active rule (and include the required documentation) before funds can be released.
How it works
Wire drawdown Positive Pay works differently from ACH and checks — it does not use numeric amount limits.
Instead, a wire drawdown is accepted only when:
There is an active wire drawdown Positive Pay rule, and
That rule has a drawdown authorization document uploaded and attached
To activate a wire drawdown Positive Pay rule, you must upload a drawdown authorization document (for example, a signed agreement or authorization letter that supports the drawdown terms).
Once the document is uploaded, the rule becomes active — and any matching wire drawdown request is sent to manual review by the bank, to confirm the drawdown request aligns with the authorization documentation.
If the bank determines the conditions are not met (based on the comparison between the authorization document and the drawdown request), the drawdown is returned.
Why this matters day-to-day?
Wire drawdowns can move large amounts of money quickly, and they’re often tied to ongoing vendor or lending relationships. That makes them convenient — but also higher risk if something unexpected happens.
Wire Drawdown Positive Pay is especially useful for teams that want tighter controls without slowing down legitimate drawdowns. It helps protect you from:
Unauthorized drawdowns (e.g., a bad actor attempting to pull funds using compromised or reused instructions)
Example: Northshore Medical Supplies has a revolving credit arrangement with Summit Capital Partners, where Summit is allowed to initiate wire drawdowns when Northshore requests funding. Northshore has an active Wire Drawdown Positive Pay rule on the account, with the signed authorization document uploaded. A bad actor gains access to old drawdown instructions (for example from an email thread or forwarded PDF) and submits a drawdown request pretending to be Summit.
How Positive Pay helps: Because wire drawdowns require an active rule and go through manual review, the bank reviews the drawdown request against the uploaded authorization document. If the request doesn’t align with the authorization (or appears inconsistent), the drawdown is returned and funds aren’t released.
Unexpected requests from a known counterparty (e.g., a vendor initiating a drawdown outside the agreed amount)
Example: Cedar Ridge Construction works with Granite Equipment Leasing, who is authorized to initiate wire drawdowns under agreed terms. Cedar Ridge has an active Wire Drawdown Positive Pay rule, with the signed drawdown authorization document uploaded. Granite submits a drawdown request for $180,000, even though the authorization document only permits drawdowns up to $120,000 for that period/milestone.
How Positive Pay helps: Even though the counterparty is known, the drawdown is sent to manual review and compared against the authorization document. Since the requested amount exceeds what was authorized, the drawdown is returned.
Operational mistakes (e.g., the wrong account being drawn down, or the wrong request being submitted)
Example: Juniper Office Supply Co. has two accounts: one for payroll and one for vendor payments. Their lender, Pioneer Lending Group, is authorized to draw down from the vendor payments account only, and Juniper has an active Positive Pay rule with the correct authorization document attached. A drawdown request is mistakenly submitted against the payroll account (for example due to internal routing confusion or the wrong account being referenced).
How Positive Pay helps: Because the drawdown does not align with the account’s active drawdown rule and authorization documentation, it fails review and is
returned— preventing funds from being pulled from the wrong account.
Rule statuses
- Active — Valid to authorize wire drawdowns
- AwaitingDocuments — Rule exists but required authorization paperwork is missing
- Expired — No longer applicable
- Cancelled — No longer applicable