Ben Knieff, who oversees fraud prevention strategy for NICE Actimize, says most small businesses don't understand online fraud risks, but they are willing to work with banks to mitigate losses. That's just one of the takeaways, Knieff says, from a recent survey of small businesses commissioned by NICE Actimize. According to the survey, which included responses from 315 small to medium-sized U.S. commercial customers, shows that beyond the prevention of ACH fraud, merely taking steps to reduce fraud improves the overall relationship between financial institutions and their commercial customers.

The economic downturn forced many financial institutions to face serious questions about their debt portfolios. While tackling significant loan challenges, some of these institutions have also had to deal with the added pressures of new industry regulations and investor expectations.