First Horizon Bank Positive Pay: How to Build Your Check Issue File
If your business banks with First Horizon Bank, positive pay is the service that matches the checks presented against your account to a list of checks you actually issued. When a presented check does not match your list, the bank holds it as a suspect item and asks you to make a pay or return decision before it clears. This page explains how positive pay works at First Horizon, what the check issue file generally contains, and how to build a file that matches using this free tool.
First Horizon documents its check fraud tools as Check Positive Pay and ACH Positive Pay, with a Reverse Positive Pay option aimed at smaller businesses. The check version is the one that requires you to upload an issued check file, so that is the focus here.
Where positive pay lives at First Horizon
First Horizon delivers Check Positive Pay through its online treasury platforms: TreasuryConnect for corporate and commercial clients, and BusinessConnect for small business clients. According to First Horizon, the service is a fully automated process offered with both platforms. You upload your issued check file through the online web module, and each day the checks presented for payment are compared against that file. Only items that match are paid, including checks that were converted and presented electronically.
Checks that do not match are flagged as suspect and presented to you online for a pay or return decision. The web module includes a hyperlink to view an image of the check that was presented, which helps you tell a real exception from a fraudulent or altered item. First Horizon also lists optional features such as payee name verification, real-time teller verification, and additional date and amount edits to help catch stale-dated items. Payee name verification, often called payee match, only works if your file includes the payee name, so confirm with the bank whether your account uses it.
What a First Horizon check issue file contains
The exact layout for your check issue file is provided by First Horizon when your account is set up, and it can vary by account and by platform. Do not assume field positions or column order from a generic template. That said, a check issue file for almost any bank carries the same core pieces of information:
- Account number the checks are drawn on
- Check or serial number
- Amount of the check
- Issue date
- An issued or void action code that marks whether the row adds a check or voids one
- Payee name, optional, and required only if your account uses payee match
You can see how these fields fit together in our positive pay file format reference. For the void action specifically, First Horizon uses a code to indicate a voided item in the check issue file, so ask which exact value your account expects rather than guessing. Our guide on handling void checks in positive pay covers why these rows matter.
Two First Horizon details worth confirming
When clients move to TreasuryConnect, First Horizon has published a couple of specifics that affect how you format and time your file:
- Check issue files must not contain special characters, including dollar signs (
$) and commas (,). That means amounts like$1,250.00need to be written as1250.00. If your accounting export adds currency symbols or thousands separators, strip them before upload. Our note on how positive pay amounts are formatted explains the common variations. - On TreasuryConnect, exception items are loaded once each business day at 7:00 a.m. ET, and final pay or return decisions are due by 3:00 p.m. ET. Missing the decision window can let the bank apply a default action, so treat the cutoff as firm. See positive pay cutoff times for why this matters.
Both of these are bank-specific rules. Your account may differ, so verify them against the documentation First Horizon gives you.
Build a matching file from your check register
If you write checks in QuickBooks, Xero, or any system that exports a check register, you can turn that register into a First Horizon-ready file with the free positive pay file generator. The custom format builder lets you set the column order, choose comma-separated or fixed-width output, pick the date format, set the issued and void codes, and control how the amount is written. Because First Horizon does not allow dollar signs or commas, configure the amount column as a plain number with a decimal point, for example 1250.00.
- Export your check register as CSV from your accounting software.
- Open the generator and load the register.
- Map your columns to account number, check number, amount, issue date, and action code, and add payee if your account uses payee match.
- Match the field order and format to the layout First Horizon gave you, then export the file.
If you are still deciding whether the service is worth it, our overview of what positive pay is and positive pay for small business can help.
Verify your first file with the bank
Before you rely on an automated upload, send one test file and confirm with First Horizon that it loaded cleanly and that every check matched. A single wrong column, an extra comma, or a date in the wrong format can cause the file to reject or, worse, flag legitimate checks as suspect. The bank's own specification always wins over any general template, including this one. If a file is rejected, our guide on why positive pay files get rejected walks through the usual causes. You can review the full product details on First Horizon's positive pay page.