For decades the only way to pay for goods or services was by cash, check, and eventually credit cards. More recently, other forms of payment like cryptocurrencies and digital wallets have entered the picture. But, those haven’t captured the attention that electronic checks have. Now’s the time to consider eCheck acceptance.
According to the Federal Reserve Payments Study 2016, the “number of total ACH payments is estimated to have grown to 23.5 billion in 2015 with a value of $145.30 trillion, up 3.1 billion by number or $16.29 trillion since 2012.
Total ACH payments are estimated to have grown at an annual rate of 4.9 percent by number or 4.0 percent by value from 2012 to 2015.”
The reason for this impressive growth easy to understand. Electronic checks are fast and secure to process. They also cost less to process, are better for the environment, and prevent fewer errors.
Businesses that accept eChecks can improve their bottom line thanks to the following reasons:
Saving money means you’re making money.
According to a survey conducted by the Association for Finance Professionals, “the median cost of sending a paper check is $3.00. Receiving a paper check is $1.57.” However, the median internal cost for sending and receiving ACH payments is just $0.29 and $0.27 for sending and receiving ACH payments externally.
Overall, the study concluded that a paper check is 10 times more expensive than sending and receiving eChecks. How can that be? It’s simple, actually.
With eChecks you’re eliminating costs like postage, envelopes, ink and paper for receipts, and the checks themselves. That doesn’t even take into account the time involved with writing, filing, and depositing paper checks.
As Ben Franklin famously said, “a penny saved is a penny earned.”
Turns checks into cash.
What I mean by this is that with eChecks you no longer have to wait days, if not weeks, for a payment to clear. Funds are usually available on the same day. That can greatly improve your business’s cash flow.
Additionally:
- There’s real-time authorization so that you’re reducing the risk of accepting bad checks.
- Reduces the risk of chargebacks and fraud due to advanced eCheck security.
- You no longer have to make trips to the bank or worry about customer’s signing the back of a check.
- You can track and review activity in real-time to improve your reporting.
Those may not seem like a big deal at first, but these are all effective ways that your business will save time and money with eChecks. Again, the more money you save, the more money you’ll have in your bank account.
Recurring billing.
Electronic checks and recurring billing go hand-in-hand. As explained in a previous Due post, recurring billing makes cash flow predictable so that you can forecast future growth and future earnings.
Furthermore, recurring billing prevents late or missed payments since funds are automatically withdrawn on the schedule you specify. As a result, you can improve the customer experience, save time and money, and help out the environment. It’s a win-win situation.
Encourages repeat business.
The more payment options you offer, the more business you’ll attract. This in turn will grow your revenue.
Like about it for a second. You try out a new restaurant in town. The food and service are excellent. The only snag is that they only accept cash.
It’s not the the end of the world. But, it’s extremely inconvenient for you. Because they only offer one type of payment, you may be less inticied to return there for another meal.
Also, customers prefer different payment forms depending on the type of purchase. For example, debit cards are used most often for everyday purchases like groceries. With eChecks they’re ideal for businesses that accept large sum payments because of the security and lower transaction fees.
Improves the customer experience.
Let’s say that you love the restaurant mentioned above. You don’t mind paying cash because it’s your favorite food in town. Then a new restaurant opens.
The quality of the food is just as good, as are the prices. The difference? They accept multiple forms of payment. Which restaurant do you think you’ll go to more often?
If you want to improve the customer experience, then your business needs to offer several convenient and secure payments forms, such as eChecks. You can also email receipts to your customers so that they have them for their records.
Attracts Millennials.
Each demographic has their own payment preference. This is especially true of millennials who prefer mobile and digital payment methods. Interestingly, a whooping 87 percent of millennials have written a check within the last three months.
By accepting eChecks, the wider range of people, particularly millenials, your business will attract.
