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"Top 5 Reasons Your Business Needs ACH* Processing"
by Wayne Akey
info@ach-payments.com

Almost any business, on the Net or not, can benefit
from using the ACH system to electronically move
money. Here are the top 5 reasons why:

1) Accepting checks via your web site.

Everyone knows you have to accept credit cards to
succeed online. The problem for many consumers is that
they either don't have a credit card or are at their
credit limit. The good news is that the vast majority
of these consumers have a checking or savings account
that you can access for payment.

Using ACH processing allows you to accept payment from
a checking or savings account electronically. Funds
are debited from the customer and credited to the
business owner. Issues such as bounced checks or
closed accounts can be addressed through a combination
of fraud screening and collection tools. This includes
the ability to verify in real time that the account
number the customer uses is valid and that there is
money in the account.

There are many providers. PayPal, http://www.paypal.com
is perhaps the best known. There are more economical
options available. The processor you elect to use
should have experience, a client list and easy to use
web site integration tools.

ACH processing can be much less expensive than credit
cards. On a typical $100 transaction you could pay 2.35%
plus .30 per transaction for a total of $2.65. You pay
much less for an electronic check with no discount rate.
A typical per transaction fee may be .30. The reason
for the drastic price difference is this:

The credit card transaction once "approved" is money
you are "guaranteed" to receive. An ACH transaction
is a request to transfer funds from one bank account
to another. The funds in most cases are available
but NSF's (non-sufficient funds) are possible. Because
the credit card transaction is guaranteed there is
more risk for the processor and hence they charge
more.


Using ACH processing can also save a great deal of
money if you receive an NSF (non-sufficient funds)
check. Depending on what your bank currently charges
you can save 90% or more. An ACH Processor may charge
$1.00 to $2.00 per NSF while many banks today charge
up to $30 for an NSF paper check.

2) Accepting checks via phone.

NACHA (http://www.nacha.org) the governing body of
electronic transactions now allows a business to
electronically debit a consumers account for
payment taken by phone. Similar savings to web
transactions are possible. You can offer a new payment
vehicle to your customers and cut costs. Verification
services can reduce fraud and the charge back window
compared to credit cards is shorter.

3) Recurring payments.

If your site collects a monthly fee from consumers or
businesses and you only use credit cards you are both
paying too much and losing a significant percentage of
users who would pay electronically via ACH.

4) Electronic pay-outs.

If you pay affiliates by mailing checks you could be
electronically crediting their account. No postage
or invoice costs. Automation of payments is possible.

You can also pay employees and vendors via ACH.

5) Processing mailed payments.

Your bank probably charges between $10-$20 for
returned checks. You can convert these paper checks
to electronic transactions and get your money faster,
avoid expensive returns and trips to your bank.

These are 5 solid reasons your business needs ACH
processing. The bottom line is that it can save you
time and money while offering customers a payment
alternative.

Partner with a reputable ACH processor and you can
enjoy the multiple benefits of ACH payment processing.
These include reduced costs and time as well as
automating manual tasks.

*ACH refers to the Automated Clearing House and
generically means money moves electronically.

©2005 by Wayne Akey

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Wayne Akey of http://www.ACH-Payments.com has
helpednumerous businesses save time and money
with ACH processing. Get your free report
on how your business can benefit
http://www.ach-payments.com/software/secrets.doc
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** If you choose to use this article please be
kind enough to email me at wakey@ach-payments.com
with the word "Article" in the subject.