Accept Checks Online to Increase Sales

No Card?  Echecks Save the Sale 

More than 83% of consumers shop on line at once a week or more. Yet, surprisingly, only 70% of American shoppers have credit or debit cards.

How do customers who do not have cards buy  from your website?  You’ll lose the sale unless you provide an alternative to card payments on your checkout page.  The most popular alternative payment method for US buyers is electronic check processing.

Electronic checks are the fastest way to boost orders from shoppers that do not have cards.  Simply by adding echecks as a payment method on your checkout page can increase your sales up to 20%.

• Increase Sales. Electronic checks are the most popular alternative payment method for US shoppers. Over 95% of US households have bank accounts and can pay you with an echeck.  
• Decrease Shopping Cart Abandonment. If a credit card is rejected, offer an echeck payment option. Rescue sales that otherwise would be lost.
• Save Money on Payment Processing. Rates for electronic checks are much lower than for card processing. Saving you 50-80% over credit card processing fees.

Buyers Want to Pay with eChecks

Echecks electronically debits funds from consumers’ bank accounts.  The money is automatically deposited to your business bank account.  

Will customers will use echecks?    Absolutely yes.

Consumers are familiar with electronic checks and expect to see the payment option on your checkout page.   The majority of Americans pay at least one bill monthly online with an echeck and trust the payment method. 

When you accept checks online, you extend a familiar payment method to your website.  Giving shoppers another convenient way to purchase from you.

Echecks Stabilize Recurring Billing

Echecks are an excellent payment solution for companies with recurring billing models  Echecks are far more effective at stabilizing cash flow from recurring payments than cards.  

Consumers rarely change checking accounts.  There is no reason to update payment information. Funds can be deducted from the same account for years.  Stabilizing cash flow.  While increasing the lifetime value of customers to your business.

More than 20% of cards are reissued every year.  Each time a card is reissued, card data has to be updated for a payment to be approved.  Which is expensive & time-consuming.  And, each time card payment data has to be updated, it gives customers a reason to cancel.

Electronic Checks for Ecommerce

Ecommerce merchants selling tangible products benefit from echeck processing. Although echecks don’t clear in “real time” (which will change in October, 2017 when same day ACH debits will be a reality), commerce merchants simply wait a day before shipping to be sure the transaction clears.  

Electronic check processing gives customers an alternative method to pay you if they do not have a card or are maxed out on cards.  Give your customers another chance to buy from you.

Companies that sell high ticket items such as electronics, jewelry, furniture, and luxury goods also discover echecks are a good alternative to debit cards.  Banks issuing the debit cards often limit the transaction amount allowed on the card.  If this happens, offer an electronic check payment option & save the sale.  

Conclusion

Offer echecks as an alternative payment method and watch your sales grow.  

Accept checks online. Accept check by phone, mail and fax orders.  You’ll be happily surprised at the number of shoppers who will use an echeck complete the order.   

Remember you’ll make more sales when shoppers have different ways to pay you.  

Are you interested in electronic check processing to get more orders from shoppers?

Contact info@nationalach.com today

21 Reasons You Need Echecks

How You Benefit from Echecks

Echecks are a trusted alternative payment method used by millions of US consumers. This article reviews the top 20 benefits of accepting electronic checks.

Reasons to Accept Electronic Checks

Here are a some of the benefits you can expect when you accept electronic checks.

• Reduced Banking Fees – Processing checks electronically dramatically reduces or eliminates bank deposit item fees and NSF return fees on those checks not clearing.
• Save Money – Checks processed and returned electronically only incur a nominal transaction charge.
• Fast – Most electronic transactions are processed in 24 – 48 hours. Faster processing means faster NSF notification and more efficient check recovery.
• Fast Settlement – Electronic items, including NSF checks, are processed ahead of paper items and cleared or rejected faster. You get your money faster.
• First Claim To Account Funds – Electronic transactions get first claim to any cash in the account. The reason is that banks routinely post ACH transactions before they post paper checks. Even if the available funds are insufficient to cover all items posted, the likelihood that you’ll collect is higher if you re-present an electronic ACH entry rather than a paper check.
• Recovery Odds Increased 33% Electronic submission allows a third redeposit electronically, significantly enhancing the chances of collection. As the saying goes, “Third time’s a charm.”
• Collection Ratios up to 85% -Electronic check recovery collection ratios have exceeded 85%, based on age of check, when processed.   Electronic checks are processed ahead of paper checks-jumping to the front of the line, clearing ahead of checks written days earlier.
• Customers Return Faster– Faster NSF settlement brings customers back into the clients’ business that much faster, allowing them to resume purchasing goods or services.
• Save Money.  Automated Payment Entry Options – Electronic MICR Check Readers are available that help make transaction processing volume more manageable, dramatically reducing entry errors.
• Competitive Advantage – Competition is tough. Smart businesses are offering consumers multiple payment options to pay by check via telephone, fax, or over the Internet. Customers expect the convenience of electronic payments when purchasing merchandise or services.
• Increase Cash Flow – Electronic check processing helps ensure that contract payment clauses are fulfilled. Automatic debits to the customer’s account take away payment-delaying tactics.
• Payment Plans – Customized automated payment plans are easily implemented to meet the customer’s personal financial abilities. Enter the payment information into the software once and forget it—the program automatically debits the customer’s account as scheduled.
• Convenience – More and more consumers are opting for electronic solutions for recurring payments and direct deposits. They are looking for convenience and ways to eliminate mundane tasks such as writing and mailing the same checks every month.
• Multiple Payment/Order Channels – Check acceptance broadens the customer base; increasing customer options leads to more sales, increased revenues, and higher profits.
• Reduced Payment Processing Expense -Electronic transactions are less costly-flat fee per transaction versus a percentage of the total sale with credit cards, manual handling dramatically reduced.
• Administration Saves Money– Electronic Check Processing virtually eliminates the costs associated with preparing and mailing customer invoices, and other costs such as: Accounts receivable follow up; bank fees; bad debt; collection expense; and administrative expenses.
• Customer Payment Options -Businesses want control over costs associated with payment options-if one payment option is less costly than others; they want the knowledge and ability to influence the customer’s choice.
• Safe and Secure. When data files are sent for processing, they are scrambled prior to transmitting, then unscrambled prior to processing, adding to the prevention of fraud and unauthorized access.
• Easy Reconciliation – Automatic posting of settlements matches paid checks and lists those checks that did not clear for immediate follow up. NSF checks can be automatically resubmitted.
• COD – Customer Service – Next day settlement allows merchants to hold shipments until check clearance is verified, eliminating potential bad debt losses and re-stocking expenses.

Conclusion

Millions of Americans regularly pay for goods & services with electronic checks. Echecks are a familiar and trusted alternative payment method for US consumers.  

This article gives you the top 21 reasons that businesses throughout the country have moved to electronic check processing.

Interested in an echeck account to increase profits while decreasing expense?

Contact info@nationalach.com today

Collection Merchant Accounts

The collection industry has been growing along with debt for unpaid purchases, bills, services, and other debts. There are over 1 billion credit cards open in the U.S. alone, and each American household owes an average of about $135,000 in debt. Factor in the complexity of the ever-growing internet marketplace, and it’s no wonder that consumers slip through the cracks and neglect to pay for provided goods and services.

Despite a notoriously bad reputation, debt collectors work hard to get companies money, and are often honest, legitimate agencies. A reliable and timely merchant account will help lower the risks inherent to the collection industry, but since collections accounts are high-risk, it is difficult for newer and smaller agencies to get approval for merchant accounts that ensure timely and reliable payment processing.

Why is debt collection a high risk business?

Payment processing companies often deny applications for merchant accounts from collection agencies, especially smaller, or less established agencies because of unstable cash flow and poor reputation. A lot of profit stands to be made from pursuing debts. Unfortunately, a variety of factors make it difficult to collect payment successfully and consistently, in turn destabilizing cash flow and harming your agency’s reputation. The following are some of the more common risks faced by collection agencies and how to decrease them.

The risk: Debtors can’t afford their debt

Many consumers simply have other priorities for their paychecks than paying off debt collectors, especially for amounts owed years prior. They know that they need to pay off debts eventually, but that their credit score may have already been damaged, regardless of whether they now close out their account with the creditor.

What to do about it: Make it easier to pay and inconvenient not to pay

If you don’t offer convenient ways for debtors to pay, they won’t try very hard to comply with requests for payment—especially those who owe money on delinquent accounts. One of the most likely ways to deter someone from paying their debt as soon as possible is not offering several clear options for payment. These options should include

• ACH / echecks
• Debit card payments
• Accept payments online on your website
• Accept payments by phone

Accepting payments through various formats and methods will make it more difficult for debtors to delay paying your agency and thus destabilizing your agency’s cash flow. 

Keep in mind that many debtors cannot afford their payments, and may not have room on their  cards to make payments on their debts. E-checks are a more convenient payment option that can be used by a wider range of consumers to pay off debts. This improves the consumer’s credit score, and profits your agency. The right merchant account will offer several payment processing options, and should also offer verification services to prevent fraudulent or otherwise unreliable payments.

Read more about e-checks for more reliable payment.

The risk: Chargebacks

Cardholders can easily have their bank withdraw money from yours without permission if the cardholder claims he or she did not authorize a payment. This happens for a number of reasons, some legitimate and some not, but the bottom line is that it hurts your business to have money taken back out of your bank account, after which, you are forced to continue attempting to collect the debt.

This also poses a problem for the employees of collection agencies, many of whom are paid based on how fast they can get consumers to pay their amount owed. Bank account information is more reliable than card information, improving financial stability for your employees and lowering the turnover rate at your company.

What to do about it: Use e-checks, make it inconvenient to dispute charges

Consumers are protected by the ability to claim identity theft or otherwise unauthorized payments. It’s more difficult to reclaim money paid with an e-check than with debit or credit card information. Collecting payment through bank account information also reduces the need to update payment information, and prevents erratic cash flow back out of your company’s account due to chargebacks.

Read more about how to handle and prevent chargebacks.

The risk: Debt collection agencies have a poor reputation

Not only are collection agencies known among consumers for incessant phone calls, angry letters and poor customer service, but those in the collection industry are regarded as high-risk accounts, unless the company has a long, well-established history.

What to do about it: Open the right merchant account, verify debts and operate honestly

With a reliable merchant account, you should be able to verify accounts and payments. This prevents back-and-forth discussion with creditors, consumers and credit bureaus to settle accounts and collect money owed. ACH payments or e-checks also decrease time spent having to contact and re-contact consumers to successfully transfer payment. The less time calling or writing debtors, the less likely you are to be perceived as aggressive and more likely you are to be paid.

Some collection agencies purchase debts that may have been acquired previously by other collectors, and attempt to collect the debt without verifying its legitimacy. To encourage a positive reputation for your agency, don’t purchase debt that hasn’t been verified. “Zombie debt,” though cheap to purchase from creditors or other collectors, is easily disputed, and leads to negative perceptions of your agency and limited cooperation of debtors.

Now what?

If you’ve decided that you do want to pursue better ways to ensure financial stability and higher collection rates, find the right merchant account to help lower the risks associated with the collections industry. Take advantage of different payment options to make it easier and more convenient to pay, and inconvenient not to pay. Bank account information is more reliable for your business than credit card information, and your merchant account provider should offer services against fraudulent payments.

Why Echecks are Replacing Paper

What is an Electronic Check

An eCheck or electronic check is an electronic version of a traditional paper based check.

An echeck account gives you the ability to automatically debit funds from your customers bank accounts.  Funds are then deposited into your business bank account.

Customers  provide their bank routing & account numbers.  Along with an authorization for you to debit their bank account for the money due. That’s all it takes.  

Echecks are the modern way to accept check payments. No trips to the bank. No paper to deal with.  

Great, But How do they Work?

You can accept checks online with a simple API integration to your website. You can take check by phone, fax and email orders through a virtual terminal.  

ACH echecks are remarkably effective for recurring payments.  Customers rarely change bank accounts. Payments continue uninterrupted month after month, with no need to update account information.  

Compare this with card payments.  Since one in five cards are reissued each year, you have to constantly update card data in order for recurring transactions to be approved.   Which is time-consuming, labor intensive, and costly.

Numerous Benefits of Electronic Checks

Echecks  save you time and lower your operating expenses.  And you eliminate the hassle of dealing with paper checks.  

You can easily and digitally send and receive payments without moving an inch. However, these aren’t the only advantages of eChecks.

Minimizing Processing Expenses up to 60% – Electronic check processing can save you 50-80% over the cost of credit card processing

Quick Funds – eChecks are processed electronically and clear much more quickly than paper items.

eChecks are Greener – No more dealing with paper. eChecks minimize carbon emissions by saving 67.4 million gallons of fuel and reduce greenhouse gasses and emission by more than 3.6 million tons.

Conclusion

Paper checks are quickly becoming extinct. Electronic checks are faster, safer, and more cost effective. And are rapidly becoming the payment option of choice for businesses that accept check payments.  

How are you processing your check payments?  

Contact info@paynetsecure.net today 

eChecks for Online Merchants

Accept Checks Online

Want an easy way to increase sales 8-20%?  While saving money on payment processing costs? Simply add echecks  as a payment option to your checkout page.

Get More Orders

Electronic checks give customers another way to buy from you. Obviously, the more ways customers have to pay you, the more sales you will make.

The Federal Reserve reports than 27% of Americans do not have credit cards. Yet more than 90% of US households have bank accounts and can make purchases with electronic checks.

Moreover, many Americans with cards are either near or at their limits. When a card sale is denied, offer the buyer the opportunity to pay with an electronic check instead. You’ll be amazed at the number of sales you’ll capture that otherwise would be lost.

Reduced Risk for You

Credit card transactions have a higher risk of contingent liabilities for merchants than do electronic check transactions.

Buyers can chargeback a credit card transaction for up 180 days after a purchase is made. Yet, with echecks, a consumer has only 60 days to revoke a transaction. And for business-to-business transactions, the buyer has only 3 days to revoke a transaction.

It’s also more difficult to revoke an electronic check transaction than a credit card transaction. For card payments, customers are able to call their card issuing bank to initiate a chargeback. The issuing bank usually takes the side of the consumer against the merchant.

However, to revoke a check transaction, a consumer often has to swear out an affidavit to chargeback a transaction, a more challenging and time consuming process.

Competitive Advantage

Online shoppers have virtually unlimited sites from which to buy goods and services. After all the time and effort you spend trying to get buyers to visit your site, it is a shame to loss a sale because you don’t accept echecks.  

With a fast click of a mouse, you can lose a sale to your competitors who offer echecks as a payment option if you don’t.

Conclusion

Alternative payment options such as electronic checks are among the fastest growing sources of increased revenues for internet merchants.

Shoppers trust electronic check payments.  Millions of Americans regularly pay for goods and services with echecks. If you don’t accept electronic checks, you lose sales to your competitors who do.  

Add electronic checks to your checkout page.  Get more sales from customers who don’t have cards or are maxed out on cards.  Or simply prefer to pay you with an electronic check.

Interested in increasing sales with echeck payments?  

Contact info@nationalach today.

High Volume Merchant Accounts

Echecks Boost Profits for High Volume Merchants

High volume merchants discover that adding electronic check processing is one of the easiest ways to increase sales and profits.  

The ACH network the oldest and most reliable electronic payment method available in the United States. As the ACH network continued to expand over the years, it managed to preserve its versatility and dependability.

For high volume merchants, using ACH payments is extremely beneficial in converting shoppers to buyers. 

A Snapshot of the ACH Network

While the overall results for 2015 are still not in, the processing capability and outstanding potential of the ACH network are illustrated by the results of 2014. In April 2015, the National Automated Clearing House Association announced that in 2014, the ACH network facilitated 23 billion payments, which is a 1 billion increase compared with year of 2013.

The WEB transactions represent one of the most promising segments, as they went up by 10.2% in the same interval. The introduction of Same Day ACH will further improve the efficiency of the network by allowing all parties involved to move funds with the speed that is needed in our fast-paced modern times.

High Volume ACH Payments for Your Business

You will find multiple advantages in using ACH payments on your website. The popularity of electronic check payments among consumers results from the favorable way it compares with credit card payments.

Not having to provide card information introduces a degree of convenience that makes a great deal of difference when the customer reaches the checkout page. High volume merchants discover that the fees for ACH payments are considerably lower compared with the ones for credit card payments.

ACH payments provide higher security to both you and your customers through its low chargeback and fraud rate.

ACH payments are compatible with the increasingly popular subscription-based business models through its recurring payment option.

Conclusion

Once implemented, ACH payments make an enormous difference in terms of profits for high volume merchants.  

ACH processing accounts give you an affordable way to accept payments. And ACH merchant accounts are easier to obtain than card processing accounts.  

Offering your customers the ability to pay you with an ACH echeck on your website increases your sales while  lowering  your processing expenses.  

Are you interested in adding ACH echecks to your high volume merchant account?  

Contact info@NationalACH.com today.