System and method for verifying the authenticity of a check and authorizing payment thereof

A method of verifying authenticity and authorizing payment of a negotiable instrument, said method comprising:

• a) establishing a first set of data of a given negotiable instrument including account data and payee data at an issuing site;
• b) communicating the first set of data as originally appearing on the negotiable instrument to a processing site for storage;
• c) establishing identifying data from identifying information disposed on said negotiable instrument;
• d) communicating said identifying data as appearing on the bank check at a cashing site to the processing site and comparing the identifying data to identifying data from the negotiable instrument communicated to the processing site from an issuing site;
• e) communicating at least a portion of the first data to the issuing site upon a positive comparison of said identifying data at the processing site;
• and
• f) authorizing payment of the negotiable instrument at the cashing site upon a positive comparison of the first set of data with corresponding data appearing on the negotiable instrument at the cashing site.

A system for verifying an authenticity of a bank check, said system comprising:

• a) an issuing terminal including a first input facility structured to generate a first set of data;
• b) a cashing terminal including a second input facility structured to generate a second set of data;
• c) said first set of data comprising account and payee data as originally appearing on the bank check, said second set of data comprising at least said account data as appears on the same bank check when presented for redemption;
• d) a central processing unit communicatively linked to said issuing terminal and said cashing terminal and structured to compare said first and second sets of data;
• e) said central processing unit further structured to communicate authenticating data to said cashing terminal for comparison of said first and second sets of data;
• f) said authenticating data comprising a verification signal indicative of authenticity upon determination by said central processing unit of a positive comparison between said first and second sets of data;
• g) an electronic substitute check generated for subsequent processing after cashing of the given bank check;
• and
• said electronic substitute check structured for communication and processing as a replacement for processing the bank check.