Rise of Echecks for Online Payments

The number of online ACH transactions increased over 10% in 2012.  Clearly, echecks are experiencing greater acceptance by consumers as a way to pay for purchases made on line.

Te expanding use of online bill pay has helped drive the growth.  Customers commonly pay utility and other bills with echecks, making it a familiar and trusted form of payment.

Echecks are a good option for online merchants that sell goods or services.  Echecks give buyers who do not have cards or who are maxed out on cards another way to pay.

Echecks are not yet authorized in real time.  Transactions clear through the Federal Reserve the following business day.  Therefore, merchants who are selling shippable products often wait 1-2 days before shipping to make sure the transaction is not returned for non-sufficient funds.

Electronic Checks Alternative to Cards

Echecks are the most popular alternative payment method for US shoppers.  Millions of Americans trust electronic checks and regularly use them to pay for goods and services.

When you accept checks online you increase profits by getting orders from buyers that don't have cards.  Or are maxed out on cards.  Or buyers who simply prefer to pay you with an echeck rather than a card.

More than 30% of internet sites already offer echecks as a payment option at checkout. If you do not accept checks online, you risk losing sales to your competitors who do.  

Echecks for Recurring Billing

Subscription and recurring billing models are particularly well-suited for echeck payments.  Consumers seldom change bank accounts.  Automated payments debit a bank account on a recurring basis.  Customers grow used to seeing the transaction on a monthly basis and seldom initiate chargebacks.

Moreover, customers are used to paying for recurring billing using echecks.  Online entertainment services, web hosting, internet services, and subscription services find that offering echecks as a payment option can increase revenues up to 30%.

Compare this to a card being used for recurring billing.  More than 20% of cards are reissued every year due to expired dates and lost or stolen cards.  Some merchants rely on customers to update cards, resulting in a loss of revenues when customers do not provide the information.  Other merchants incur significant customer service costs trying to manage changes in cards being billed.

Conclusion

Echecks are now mainstream.  It’s simply common sense.  The more ways your customers have to buy from you, the more sales you’ll make.

Accept electronic checks on your checkout page. Convenient for shoppers. Profitable for you.

Do you want to accept checks online?

Contact info@NationalACH today.