El Pueblo Market Stops Its $1,500 a Month Check Fraud Problem with Paycheck Secure
El Pueblo Market, a small Hispanic market near Bakersfield, California, used Paycheck Secure to stop their $1,500-a-month check fraud problem and serve the local unbanked community.
“Our customers like the system because they’re not hassled every time they need to cash a check. They simply put their finger on the reader and they get their money. We make it easy for them, so they continue to come back — in many cases, with new customers. Paycheck Secure is great for business”. – Roguel Sanchez | President, El Pueblo Market
Background
Wasco, California is located southwest of Bakersfield and has a population of about 20,000. Wasco is the home of El Pueblo Market, a full-service supermarket with $3 million in annual sales. Nearly 70 percent of Wasco’s community is Hispanic, and many are El Pueblo Market customers. Since opening its doors seven years ago, El Pueblo Market has been offering check cashing services to its customers. Unfortunately, they’ve been experiencing check fraud for just as long.
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$1,500 a Month Counterfeit Check Problem
- In the last couple of years, counterfeit checks have become a great concern to Mr. Sanchez. “On average, we lost $1,500 per month on counterfeit checks,” said Roguel Sanchez, president of El Pueblo Market. “With all the technology that’s out there, making fake checks is easier than ever. It’s nearly impossible to tell a good check from a bad one.”
Solution
El Pueblo Market installed the Paycheck Secure payroll check cashing system in January of 2002.
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No IDs Needed
- Paycheck Secure uses a person’s electronic fingerprint to verify a person’s identity and confirm their check cashing history. No ID is needed. The system is convenient for people already enrolled in the system because they can cash their paycheck even if they have lost or forgotten their ID.
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Fraud Protection
- Mr. Sanchez likes the system because a clerk will be alerted if someone has a negative check transaction history or if the customer is attempting to pass a fake check. If that happens, the transaction can be cancelled before money is lost.
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Bilingual Receipts
- If the customer’s transaction is declined, the Paycheck Secure system can print a message in Spanish, detailing why the person was declined and which store marked the person “negative.” This allows the customer to easily contact the store and resolve the situation.
Impact
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On the Unbanked Community
- According to the Federal Reserve of Chicago, nearly 75% of the U.S. unbanked community prefers to use a check cashing merchant as the primary place to cash checks.
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“Nearly 95 percent of our customers don’t have bank accounts,” said Sanchez. “We use Paycheck Secure’s biometric identification system to quickly cash their checks so they can buy the things they need for themselves and their families and pay their bills.”
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On Check Fraud
- Paycheck Secure’s biometric identification system has virtually eliminated all of El Pueblo Market’s fraudulent checks and has made check cashing much safer.
