As a small business owner, you might be one of the last bastions of holdouts still reluctant to benefit from ACH payments. Unfortunately, altogether too many small businesses are laboring under outdated myths and misinformation when it comes to just how secure and cost-effective the ACH payment process truly is.
A Quick View of ACH Payments
In essence, ACH payments simply allow vendors to receive payments through a process of direct debiting the customer’s bank account. It works in the very same way as when they are paid with paper checks, but the process is less labor-intensive and actually much more secure than paper checks could ever be. Any private and personal information is transmitted digitally over the internet with the highest level of security available at any given time.
Let’s Start with the Security
As a case in point, how many times in the past have small businesses been advised to shred all hard copy files before disposing of them? Everything a fraudster would need, except the account holder’s Social Security number, is on that one paper check, making it easy to set up fraudulent accounts.
Using the latest digital security encryptions, transactions conducted through services like those offered at Yodlee ACH payments are as secure as it gets. With regularly updated digital encryption technology, it is much more difficult for criminals with nefarious intent to gain access to a customer’s financial information. If it’s security you are worried about, services provided by those like Yodlee ACH payments are NACHA compliant, meaning that they are bound by regulations in terms of digital security.
Cost-Effective Way to Accept Payments
If you are still laboring under the misconception that accepting paper checks is cheaper than contracting ACH payment services, perhaps you aren’t factoring in all the ways in which accepting those checks is costing you money. Paper checks are far from free. You need to also consider the cost of postage when mailing out invoices and return envelopes. Then there is the labor involved as humans are needed to process those checks once they arrive.
In terms of labor alone, for every single customer account on your books, digital ACH payments are by far the most cost-effective as related to your bottom line. In reality, each paper check your small business needs to accept and the process could be costing your business as much as $20 to $30 every time. Now multiply that amount by the number of customer accounts you have, and paper checks are costing you much more than you had ever imagined.
A Final Look at the CX
In the end, it all boils down to the fact that today’s consumers are savvier than you may realize. Most consumers want to worry less about making timely payments, that once forgotten, come with late fees and other costs they’d rather not pay! Setting up ACH payments for your customers is one of the best ways to enhance the Customer Experience, which is why you should ultimately explore all the combined benefits this amazing technology holds in store for your small business.
