7 Biggest Benefits Of Using ACH Payments

Check payments used to be a standard payment procedure for a long time, and it still is in vogue. But with the development of new technologies, newer fund transfer options have emerged. ACH Transfer is one of those new methods. 

ACH or Automatic Clearing House process has reduced the burden and time required for clearing checks. One of the distinct benefits of ACH is the direct payment transfer to account for working people. Earlier, employers used to pay paper checks, but now the salary is directly credited to the employee’s account. Businesses also used to pay their vendors via paper checks but now they are using ACH. 

Here we will discuss the seven biggest benefits of ACH payments that you need to know:

  1. Safe and secure: Sending a check via mail makes the whole process pretty vulnerable. Tampering with a paper check is very easy. A paper check has everything clearly visible on it. The details include the account details, account holder’s name, address, phone number, and more. It is easy for frauds to manipulate paper checks and carry out uncouth actions. Suppose the check is supposed to reach person A, and finally, when the person does not receive the check, confusion crops up, paving the way to both fraudulence and grave error. The role of ACH payment is well discernible here because it reduces the risk of fraudulence or mistakes tenfold. The chances of ACH getting lost in the mail is zero. There is no scope for intermediaries getting roped in into the process. Hence, the risk of paper checks getting tampered with is nil. When the payment doesn’t involve any risk, clients feel more confident as far as monetary transactions are concerned.
  3. Cost-effective: Payments made through credit or debit cards involve processing fees that can pile up to become a hefty amount. The processing fee associated with ACH payment is nominal. Hence, it is a suitable option for a merchant looking for ease of making payments and affordability. 
  5. Ease of using: If we talk about convenience, nothing can really beat the ease of using ACH payments. There are so many reasons to claim this. Let us look one by one:
    • Your customers or you do not have to keep your checkbooks handy. 
    • There is no question of sending checks via mail. 
    • You and your customers will be allowed to make an easy one-time payment or choose the recurring billing option. 
    • There is no need to visit the bank to keep a tab on invoices, bills, money receipts, records, and more. Everything will be available to you on your digital device. Of course, this will save you a lot of overhead costs associated with transportation, postage ink, time, and energy. When you choose ACH payments, you are actually transferring funds electronically. Hence, there is no question of facing the hassle that comes along with handling paper checks. 
  7. Time-saving: The processing time taken is pretty less compared to traditional payment methods. ACH payment happens online. Hence, the processing time is slashed down considerably. Banks nowadays prefer ACH payments over paper checks. So, it is evident that they will process an ACH payment faster. Plus, you don’t have to depend on the mail and wonder, “when will my check arrive?” ACH payments happen instantly. 
  9. ACH payment is the customer’s choice: Today’s intelligent customers prefer ACH payments for obvious reasons discussed in the sections above. According to a study carried out by the Federal Reserve Payments in 2013, the frequency of ACH transactions increased by 5.1% from 2009 to 2012 (Annually). 
  11. Option to choose recurring billing: Suppose your organization is dependent on subscriptions, then the recurring billing option will be beneficial for you and your clients. The interim processing costs that pile up every month while generating customers’ bills can be a burden for a business that has a subscription-based model. The transaction fees go down when an organization uses the ACH payment method. Plus, when a customer chooses to set up the recurring paying option, the organization keeps receiving cash from time to time. This way, an organization never worries about the customers forgetting to pay their bills. 
  13. No scope of human error: Handling a physical check can go wrong in so many ways. The writer can put in a wrong amount, there is a chance the check might bounce, the check might not reach you, and more. Ultimately all the mistakes lead to data loss. ACH payments can reduce it since the whole process is digital.