How check payouts are delivered

When Pledgix pays you by check, the check itself is a PDF delivered by email — encrypted with a password, because the attachment is a negotiable instrument. This article walks through the delivery, the password, and what to do with the file.

The delivery email

When a check is issued for your campaign, the campaign owner (plus any additional recipients authorized on the check account) receives an email that reads like a bank remittance notice: the check number, amount, payee, campaign, and issue date — everything you need to reconcile, and nothing sensitive.

Attached is the check itself, e.g. Check-001042.pdf, encrypted with AES-256. The file will not open without its password.

Where to get the password

The password is never sent by email — sending the key in the same channel as the lockbox would defeat the point. Instead:

• Open your campaign dashboard and go to Disbursements.
• Find the check by its number and choose View password.
• Copy the password (it looks like XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) and use it to open the PDF.

If you issued the check yourself through the self-serve flow, the password was also shown once on the confirmation screen at issue time. Every password view is recorded in the campaign's audit trail — that's a feature, not a formality, for a document worth real money.

You can re-download the check PDF from the same Disbursements entry at any time; downloads from the dashboard are always the password-locked version.

Printing and depositing

Once the PDF is open:

1. Print it at full size (100% scale, no "fit to page" shrinking) on white paper or check stock.
2. Deposit it like any check — at your bank's counter, through an ATM, or via your banking app's mobile deposit. The check carries a routing number, account number, and check number like any other check.

Treat the printed check as you would any signed check: one deposit only, and shred any extra prints. If a check is lost or a wrong amount was issued, contact the Pledgix team — checks can be voided and reissued, and a voided check's PDF can no longer be honored.

Physical mail — the exception

Email delivery is the default because it's instant and trackable. In specific cases the Pledgix team can instead print the check and mail the paper original to your verified address — for example, when your bank won't accept a self-printed check or your organization's process requires an original document. If you need mailed checks, mention it to the Pledgix team and they'll set your payouts up accordingly.

Tip: Save the unlocked habit for your bank, not your inbox. Keep the PDF encrypted in storage and retrieve the password from your dashboard when needed — that way a compromised mailbox never exposes a depositable check.