TLDR
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Despite the rise of digital payment types, cheques continue to be the most widely accepted method in the country, with almost one in four businesses believing they will never completely stop using cheques.
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Cheque fraud—such as counterfeits, forgeries or cheque book theft—accounted for 15% of payment fraud in 2024.
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Businesses can take several steps to protect themselves from cheque fraud. Advice includes daily account reconciliation, using a cheque verification service, and sending cheques via registered mail.
Like vinyl records, film cameras and board games, paper cheques have maintained their place in our lives despite the proliferation of digital alternatives.
While use of the hand-written or computer printed payment method has declined in recent years, its extinction is seemingly far from imminent: Seven in ten Canadians businesses still accept paper cheques, and almost a quarter of businesses believe they will never move away from the ink and paper payment type for good.
But for as long as there have been cheques, there has been cheque fraud, which can take the form of counterfeits and forgeries, number fudging, or even cheque book theft.
So while cheques remain in circulation (which the data suggests will be a very long time), businesses need to be aware of the potential risks and take the necessary steps to protect themselves from cheque fraud.
Do businesses still use cheques in 2026?
Many businesses still rely on the analogue payment form when making specific transactions or accepting payment themselves. Businesses are most likely to use cheques to pay suppliers and vendors for professional services, followed by payroll, rent and payments to the government.
According to Payments Canada, businesses used fewer cheques in 2024 than the prior year. At the same time, however, the dollar amount they’re sending via cheque are on the rise. Canadian businesses used 208 million cheques in 2024, representing a 9% drop from 2023, while total cheque value reached $2.7 trillion—a 5% bump from the year before. All told, businesses used cheques for 11% of their total spending in 2025.
Despite their ongoing use, however, cheques are being replaced by digital alternatives like EFTs, Interac e-transfer, card payment and wires thanks to their heightened speed, convenience and security. These digital payment methods outpaced cheque transaction volume among Canadian businesses for the first time in 2023, and businesses plan to rely on more digital and contactless payment methods moving forward.
While use is declining, cheques aren’t going away completely
Despite increasing adoption of digital alternatives, you can’t count out the old-fashioned cheque any time soon: Cheques continue to be the single most widely accepted payment method in the country.
Cheques are accepted by about 90% of businesses in the construction and manufacturing sectors, and more than 86% of wholesale trade businesses. Retail trade and food services businesses were least likely to take cheques, yet they are still accepted by more than half and almost a third, respectively.
Is cheque fraud a real risk for businesses?
Just because cheques aren’t as popular as they once were doesn’t mean they’ve lost their lustre among criminals and fraudsters. In fact, in an age of increasingly sophisticated digital payment fraud detection and defences, some may be banking on their victim’s relatively limited attention to analogue alternatives.
Transactions made with fraudulent cheques accounted for 15% of payment fraud in 2024, ranking just behind transactions made by stolen debit and credit cards and ahead of purchases made from a fraudulent website.
How does cheque fraud happen?
Cheque fraud can be perpetrated in several ways. When it comes to cheque-related fraud, businesses face risks on both the sending and receiving end.
As senders, it’s important to recognize that every cheque includes key information about the business, including its banking details, creating an opportunity for bad actors to use that information to perpetrate fraud. Business cheques can be stolen or misused by employees to make unauthorized payments. Even when cheques are used appropriately and as authorized, they are still at risk of being intercepted and tampered with before reaching the intended recipient, such as a change to the payee or amount.
While ink, paper and watermark technology has improved, criminals have kept pace with these advances, and a cheque (and the ID used to negotiate them) is still relatively easy and inexpensive to falsify, duplicate or manipulate. As recipients, businesses are also at risk of accepting forged or counterfeited cheques as payment for products or services as credentials aren’t automatically verified on the spot, as is the case with most digital payment methods.
Fraudsters might try to engage in “overpayment scams,” whereby they make a payment using a fake or fraudulent cheque for more than the agreed upon price, and request cash reimbursement for the difference. When that happens, a business can lose money out of pocket when the fraudulent cheque inevitably bounces.
7 ways to protect your business from cheque fraud
With cheques continuing to dodge the dustbin of history and cheque fraud remaining an ongoing threat, there are steps businesses that transact in ink and paper can take to protect themselves.
1. Review bank statements daily to spot suspicious payments
As with any payment method it’s important to keep strong records and review bank statements and transaction histories every day to spot any unauthorized or suspicious payments. You can also lower the risk by switching to more secure digital payment alternatives when possible.
Accounting teams are always encouraged to keep records of issued cheque numbers along with their corresponding amount and recipient, and verify those details with their bank.
2. Use a cheque verification service
Larger organizations or those that issue a significant number of cheques can utilize banking services like RBC Payee Match, which automatically verifies cheque information and flags anything that doesn’t match their internal records. If any details—including serial numbers, payee names, dates, addresses or amounts—appear to have been altered, customers can request the cheques be returned and reissued with the correct information to ensure on-time payment.
3. Send cheques via registered mail
When sending cheques by mail, businesses can reduce the risks of fraud by opting for registered mail, using a courier service, dropping it off directly at the post office or switching to electronic wire transfers.
4. Securely store cheque books and other documentation
Businesses can also better protect themselves by keeping their cheque books—as well as their cash, bank statements, and any cancelled cheques—under lock and key, and limit who has access to those assets. Those which are no longer needed for record keeping or tax purposes, such as cancelled cheques or old statements, should be shredded and disposed of securely.
5. Check your cheque writing and clearing processes
When it comes to cheques they print and distribute themselves, organizations are encouraged to take the necessary time to evaluate their cheque writing and clearing processes.
For example, those that currently have a single signing authority can better protect against fraud by requiring a second signature. They can also designate separate staff for preparing and signing off on cheques. Either approach creates “dual authorization” and minimizes the opportunity for any individual to be in the position to commit internal fraud. It’s similarly advised to have more than one person responsible for managing company cash or cheques and reconciling bank statements.
When it comes to processing cheque payments, organizations are encouraged to implement an internal validation process for large deposits, so that when a cheque of a certain size is presented there is a well-defined call-back process to the buyer to confirm authenticity.
6. Invest in training employees
You may consider internal employee training to help staff that handle payments understand how to detect fraudulent, counterfeit or suspicious cheques. These training sessions can equip frontline staff with the knowledge of what to look out for, such as security features and watermarks, and verify details like names and dates before accepting cheque payments.
7. Switch to digital payment methods
Depending on compatibility with your business’s accounting systems, clients and suppliers, you may decide to retire your cheque book in favour of digital and contactless payments methods such as Interac e-transfer, electronic funds transfer (EFT), and wire transfer.
In addition to their convenience and speed, digital payments can be more secure than cash or cheques because of technology like advanced encryption and multi-factor authentication, which can prevent unauthorized access to your accounts.
Despite the proliferation of digital alternatives, the traditional paper cheque is far from extinct, and the same goes for cheque-based fraud. So long as they remain a popular form of payment—which the data suggests could be a long time—organizations are encouraged to take these steps to safeguard their business from cheque fraud.
Speak with an RBC Relationship Manager to learn more about how we can help you protect your business from fraud.
Read more: Understand the risks and take steps to control fraud before it happens
This article is intended as general information only and is not to be relied upon as constituting legal, financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. Information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the authors as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates.
