The $2 billion Corporate America Credit Union announced that it recently partnered with Advanced Fraud Solutions to offer a real time and batch check fraud solution, and is the first corporate to do so.

Kernersville, N.C.-based AFS, a CUSO formed in 2007 to help combat financial fraud, takes an innovative, proactive approach in identifying fraud and risk for credit unions, the company said in a press release announcing the agreement with Corporate America.

“With shorter hold times mandated by law, credit unions have higher risk and less time to protect themselves from check loss,” said Lisa Coffey, chief operations officer for the Irondale, Ala.-based Corporate America, which has about 500 credit union members. “We believe AFS's TrueChecks system will change the way our members do business by preventing fraud within seconds of a check being presented at their branches.”

Corporate America President/CEO Pete Pritts reminded credit unions that his corporate does not require a capital investment as a condition of membership.

“All it takes for a credit union to benefit from this service is a $5 membership at Corporate America,” Pritts said.

TrueChecks identifies duplicates, counterfeits, NSF and closed account items, the company said. The system allows tellers to accept, hold or deny items with a reasonable doubt of collectability.

Coffey said the new solution will be rolled out this month so credit unions can get ahead of fraud before the holiday season.

“Unfortunately, fraud is at its peak during November and December,” she explained. “We want all credit unions to benefit from a cost effective product that can virtually eliminate check losses.”

More than 400 financial institutions currently use TrueChecks, the company said.