Modern Treasury adds cheque payments to its unified API

Modern Treasury has added physical and digital cheque payments to its Payments API, extending its payment service provider to another rail.

Developers can now originate cheque payments through the same interface used for ACH, wire transfers, RTP, FedNow, push-to-card and stablecoin payments. This removes the need for a separate cheque-printing supplier or stand-alone reconciliation process when businesses still need to issue payments by cheque.

The addition reflects the continued role of cheques in parts of the US payments market despite the growth of instant and digital methods. Modern Treasury cited Federal Reserve data showing that 9.2 billion cheques are used annually, representing USD $24.45 trillion in volume.

Cheque use remains common in sectors where payment processes are shaped by regulation, established workflows or recipient preference. These include insurance claims and settlements, legal and escrow payments, construction progress billings, real estate disbursements, healthcare reimbursements, enterprise accounts payable and unclaimed property administration.

In insurance claims and settlements, cheques still account for roughly 55% of disbursements, according to Modern Treasury. The company also noted that some state rules require cheque remittances for unclaimed property, keeping the payment method embedded in certain administrative processes.

Unified workflow

Under the updated service, users can choose a payment rail based on recipient preference, speed, cost or internal business rules without changing integrations. Customers can generate and mail physical cheques directly to a recipient's address or send a digital cheque that can be deposited through mobile banking or remote capture.

The system also includes automatic stop payments and Positive Pay protections for cheque payments. Businesses can add custom logos and attachment pages to physical and digital cheques, while managing them through the same dashboard, ledger and compliance controls used for other payment types.

Modern Treasury described the launch as a response to a long-standing gap in newer payment infrastructure, where cheque support has often required an additional supplier or manual process. By treating cheques as another rail within the same orchestration and reconciliation setup, it aims to bring a legacy instrument into a more standardised operational model.

That approach reflects a broader payments reality for finance and software teams. Different use cases still require different rails, whether because of settlement speed, recipient requirements, transaction size or legal constraints, leaving businesses to balance newer systems with older but still necessary methods.

Modern Treasury said its payments infrastructure has moved more than USD $600 billion in payments. It positions the cheque addition as part of the same framework already used for fiat and stablecoin transactions.

Matt Marcus, the company's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said the launch reflects how businesses continue to manage a mix of payment methods rather than shift fully to one rail.

"We have a saying at Modern Treasury: payment rails don't die. There's no better example than checks. No matter how the industry evolves, platforms still need the flexibility to let their customers pay and get paid in the ways that work best for them," said Matt Marcus, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Modern Treasury.

"Instant payment rails like RTP, FedNow, push-to-card, and stablecoins are expanding what's possible, but checks remain essential for millions of recipients. Our job is to ensure customers never have to choose between adopting the newest payment technologies and supporting the rails their business still relies on," Marcus said.