STAR CHEK Check Verification accessible  using EFSnet Web Services!

First Data EFS has added the STAR CHEK enhanced check verification service to its EFSnet Web services gateway. First Data subsidiary Star Systems® offers retailers and financial institutions enhanced check verification services through STAR CHEK®, a joint project with Primary Payments Systems, Inc. (PPS). Majority-owned by STAR, PPS is the nation's leading repository of financial institution account and transaction information, and a trusted provider of risk management solutions.

PPS operates the only national database that is updated daily by participating financial institutions, and includes information about the status of customer checking accounts held by those institutions. Utilizing the unique PPS database of nearly 140 million consumer checking accounts, STAR CHEK provides a valuable verification capability to retailers, even before financial institutions develop systems to accommodate real-time check conversions.

Until recently, this service was only available through direct (lease line) connections. With EFSnet, First Data's Web services gateway, the STAR CHEK service is now accessible over the Internet. According to Don Schroeder, Product Development Director at First Data's Emerging Technologies division, "By adding STAR CHEK to the EFSnet Web services suite, companies can now hook up to STAR CHEK in a matter of days instead of months by avoiding the development and certification delays associated with traditional connection techniques."

The first phase of STAR CHEK enables retailers to route check verifications, online via EFSnet and the STAR network, to the PPS database. Using STAR CHEK, a retailer can ascertain whether a checking account is active or not along with other pertinent information such as recent NSF activity. Retailers can scan a paper check at the point-of-sale and electronically transmit the magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) information, along with the transaction amount, via EFSnet to the PPS database, which responds with a message on the status of the account. Manual or programmatic entry of account information is also possible when check readers are not appropriate. Online verification is completed in 1-4 seconds.

Alternative approaches to check verification have traditionally used negative databases which contain only negative incidents, such as fraud and returns for non-sufficient funds, and may not contain up-to-date information, leading retailers to mistakenly decline good customers' checks. In contrast, positive databases, such as the PPS database, include far more comprehensive and up-to-date information on all of the individual accounts for each contributing financial institution.

As part of a robust risk management and fraud prevention strategy, STAR CHEK enables retailers to accept more checks, and with greater confidence. Consumers can continue to rely on paper checks, a preferred payment method for many, while financial institutions can process more transactions electronically, adding both speed, reduced costs, and greater security to the process.

The STAR network processes more than 2.7 billion transactions a year, via nearly 3,500 member financial institutions and 640,000 participating ATMs and merchant locations such as grocery stores, gas stations, and discount stores. As the leading electronic payments network in the nation, STAR is a First Data subsidiary headquartered in Maitland, FL.

For more information, please contact an EFSnet Sales Representative or  Visit the STAR Web Site