Shared Check Authorization Network (SCAN) is a comprehensive
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...
of
bad check
Dishonoured cheques (also spelled check) are cheques that a bank on which is drawn declines to pay (“honour”). There are a number of reasons why a bank would refuse to honour a cheque, with non-sufficient funds (NSF) being the most common one ...
writers in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The database is used by retailers in order to reduce the number of bad checks received. The database keeps track of those who have written outstanding bad checks to any retailer using the system, and retailers can determine, based on these records, whether or not to accept a check from a particular accountholder.
Retailer
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
s using the SCAN system have at least one scanner in the store, and often one at every register, that is used to scan
check
Check or cheque, may refer to:
Places
* Check, Virginia
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Check'' (film), a 2021 Indian Telugu-language film
* ''The Checks'' (episode), a 1996 TV episode of ''Seinfeld''
Games and sports
* Check (chess), a thr ...
s that are written. The scanner reads the account number and compares it with the database of checking account numbers for which bad checks have been written to any participating retailer and not repaid. If the account number matches one in the system, the retailer will be notified, and will not likely accept the check.
SCAN also operates a collection service on bad checks that are written.
See also
*
Bad check restitution program
A bad check restitution program (BCRP) is a program in the United States that works to retrieve funds from bad check writers in order to repay moneys owed to the recipients of the checks. In other words, these are debt collection operations. Ma ...
*
Check fraud
Cheque fraud (Commonwealth English), or check fraud (American English), refers to a category of criminal acts that involve making the unlawful use of cheques in order to illegally acquire or borrow funds that do not exist within the account balanc ...
*
ChexSystems
ChexSystems is a check verification service and consumer reporting agency owned by the eFunds subsidiary of Fidelity National Information Services. It provides information about the use of deposit accounts by consumers.
History
In 1991, the ag ...
External links
{{NSF
Cheques
Non-sufficient funds