If our Massachusetts institution allows our consumers to
>place stop payments on physical checks via our Internet service, is a
>signature required in order to make the stop payment
>valid/enforceable? What if any liability is there to the bank? lauri.poutry@nmsb.com

If your Internet Service is on a secure server and your customer has logged in using some form of access security, I believe you can rely upon the electronic stop order and consider it signed. Your Web banking contract/agreement should be updated to indicate how you will treat stop orders.

You will want to make sure that your web site language makes it very plain that the customer must provide you the accurate check number and dollar amount, at minimum, to assure that you can ID the check in question.

If your Web site sends the stop data directly to your online host to place the stop on your core processor, you should make certain your teller system and other processes can detect the stop at once.

If your stop order needs back-office attention before updating your core processor, be sure you have staffing adequate to response at once. If off-hours placement of stops will not be posted until the next business day, put a disclaimer on your web site. I also suggest that you collect the customer's e-mail address in the stop form, and send a message acknowledging the stop once it's recorded. In that case, you can put a disclaimer on the Web site indicating the stop won't be accepted until the acknowledgment is sent.