Signode Accelerated ACH Adoption and Strengthened Fraud Controls

From Checks to Secure Digital Payments

After experiencing an attempted fraud, Signode moved aggressively to modernize payments, converting more than 80% of check vendors to ACH while embedding stronger verification controls across 13 business units across the Americas.

Customer Overview

Signode is a manufacturing organization operating across multiple business units throughout the US and Canada, as well as globally.

Within the Americas region alone, the accounts payable function supports approximately 13 separate ERP systems. They also manage a large, diverse vendor base across industries including utilities, manufacturing, and government.

With a high volume of supplier payments, maintaining secure and consistent vendor controls is critical to protecting the organization from fraud and operational risk.

The Challenge

Before implementing Eftsure, Signode had a large percentage of check payments across its vendor mix.

Checks created operational inefficiencies, such as printing, postage, expenses, and manual handling. Crucially, they also created security vulnerabilities. Mailing payments to physical addresses left room for lost checks, delays, and exposure to interception or impersonation risk.

At the same time, vendor onboarding and bank detail updates required significant manual coordination. With multiple ERPs and business units, ensuring consistent controls was complex.

The mandate from executive leadership was direct: convert as many vendors as possible from check to ACH, and do it quickly.

As Beth Donovan, who leads vendor setup and verification across the Americas, described it:

The Turning Point

The shift to ACH wasn’t simply about cost savings. It was about risk reduction and control.

Leadership recognized that mailed checks exposed the business to avoidable vulnerabilities. At the same time, advances in AI-driven impersonation and business email compromise scams made vendor bank data verification more critical than ever.

Signode needed a structured, scalable way to:

• Verify vendor banking information independently
• Standardize onboarding across multiple business units
• Reduce check exposure
• Maintain strict controls without slowing operations

Eftsure became the foundation for that modernization effort.

The Solution: A Structured Check-to-ACH Conversion Strategy

Once Eftsure was implemented and vendor data loaded across systems, Signode launched an aggressive ACH conversion initiative.

Beth initiated a mass migration campaign, uploading approximately 1,500 vendors at once to begin the conversion process. Vendors were notified via email that, per corporate mandate, Signode would be transitioning from check to ACH for security and fraud prevention purposes.

To simplify adoption:

• A custom ACH-only change form was created for existing vendors within the Eftsure portal, reducing unnecessary data requests.
• Vendors received advance communication explaining the verification process.
• Expectations were set clearly: ACH was the new standard payment option.
• A tracking list was maintained for vendors who refused or required executive approval to remain on check.

For non-responsive suppliers, the AP team followed up persistently: automated email follow-ups, resending requests, contacting vendors directly, and escalating only when necessary.

The result was a structured, repeatable conversion engine rather than a time intensive, one-at-time campaign.

Embedded Fraud Prevention Controls

Eftsure’s verification workflow became a non-negotiable step in the payment process.

No vendor banking change is approved without verification. If a vendor completes onboarding through the portal, Eftsure independently confirms the details before payment is released.

As Beth describes her approach:

• If verification receives the “green thumbs up,” payments proceed.
• If verification is incomplete, payments stop.
• For rare exceptions, video verification is used as a last resort.
• As an added bonus, previously verified vendors within Eftsure’s global customer community network are automatically recognized, reducing friction and improving speed of verification.

This independent confirmation provides a layer of protection beyond internal controls alone, which is especially critical in a fraud landscape shaped by the risk of AI-driven deception and executive impersonation.

Low-Friction Vendor Onboarding

While fraud protection was the priority, operational efficiency quickly followed.

When vendors receive clear communication upfront, most complete onboarding quickly — often within the same day. Preparing suppliers for the verification call that Eftsure does as part of our multi-layered verification stack to guarantee vendor verification, significantly improved response rates and reduced hesitation.

What began as a heavy lift became a manageable process to migrate check vendors to ACH. Internal collaboration between AP and sourcing teams ensured approvals moved quickly across business units.

Eftsure’s customer support played a key role throughout implementation, assisting with template setup, file uploads, and change management across multiple ERPs, all while equipping the AP team to operate independently over time.

The Impact

Within the first year of rollout:

• Approximately 1,000–1,250 vendors converted from check to ACH
• ACH became the default payment method across eligible suppliers
• Manual check handling and postage costs were reduced
• Vendor onboarding became structured and trackable
• Fraud prevention controls were standardized

More importantly, the finance and AP teams gained new confidence.

Every verified ACH vendor now passes through independent validation before payment release. That layered verification significantly reduces exposure to impersonation fraud and business email compromise.

The shift from check to ACH wasn’t just operational modernization. It was a strategic fraud prevention initiative embedded directly into the payment lifecycle.

As Beth reflects one year into the transition, the process is now streamlined, controlled, and sustainable, with security built in by design.