Do I Really Need To Accept E-Checks?

by Wayne Akey

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Published on this site: February 2nd, 2004 - See more articles from this month

If your business accepts credit cards and you think you've done enough to make sure your products and services sell, read on.

E-checks or electronic checks offer your customers a much needed and often preferred payment method. An echeck refers to taking a customer check using the account and routing number on the check to convert the transaction to an ACH.

ACH refers to the Automated Clearing House and generically refers to the electronic moving of money. You can get lots of ACH info at

http://www.nacha.org, or

http://www.ach-resource.com.

An echeck may refer to a check by phone or by web.

It is widely estimated that 30 percent of those that would make purchases on the web can't because they don't have credit cards or the credit cards are declined at the point of purchase. During the Christmas season this rises to 35-42% of transactions.

Credit cards are generally the most widely used payment choice for on-line transactions. Accepting them means you open up your business to the widest possible market of buyers.

Consumers like credit cards. They are secure and offer recourse in case of fraud.

On the other hand, checks continue to be the most popular form of payment in the off-line world, and are increasingly popular on the Internet. In 2001, $11.5 billion from 54 million items was processed from Web sites through the Automated Clearing House.

This number grows rapidly. Millions of U.S. households do not even have credit card accounts. Selling to this group means you must provide electronic checks as an alternative.

Accepting electronic checks is similar in many way to credit cards. You must be approved for an account (there is risk to the processor). You may integrate a solution into your site or use software or an Internet Virtual terminal for checks by phone. Recurring payments can also be scheduled.

In looking for an ACH processor find a provider who has experience and tools that are easy to use. It should be a relatively pain free experience that opens up a whole new market for your business.

So if you think credit card processing is all you need "check" out your alternatives.

Wayne Akey has helped numerous businesses reduce costs and increase efficiency. Visit http://www.ach-payments.com for more info and a free ebook on ACH processing.