ITI Services Inc. has introduced a payment service called GetPaidByCheck. Online sellers may use the service to electronically invoice customers, who then fill out an online check form on the GetPaidByCheck Web site. The company then sends the seller a paper check in the mail.

The risk of a buyer's bank returning checks for non-sufficient funds or for invalid account numbers remains. But the company says the GetPaidByCheck system matches the check against several national databases and includes an address verification system to reduce the chance of fraud. The company recommends sellers wait 3-5 days after depositing the customer's check to make sure it clears, although, just as with regular checks from customers, risks remain that checks will be returned for non-sufficient funds.

ITI said the GetPaidByCheckservice will be free of sign-up fees forever for those clients who sign up by September 30, 2002. GetPaidByCheck charges sellers a flat fee of $1.85, no matter how large the transaction amount. http://www.getpaidbycheck.com