Posted by Sarah Jordan

According to the 2007 AFP Electronic Payments Survey, underwritten by the Electronic Payments Network (EPN), checks are becoming a decreasingly dominant form of business-to-business payment. In 2004, businesses on average made 81 percent of their B2B payments by check. Whereas now, the average has dropped to 74 percent and businesses are increasingly adopting ACH, wire transfers, and card services.

The purpose of the survey was to identify U.S. business payment trends, the benefits gained from change, and the drivers and barriers to change. Among the barriers named by respondents, the top three were constraints of automatic information remittance , integration limitations, and customer resistance to electronic payments.

However, the benefits listed included lower transaction costs, better cash-flow predictability, and increased efficiencies with accounting systems. And with 43 percent of respondents saying that their organizations will likely adopt electronic payments within the next three years, the trend shows that the barriers to electronic payment implementation are being overcome.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Technorati Tags: ACH, payment trends, electronic payments

Posted by Sarah Jordan

According to a recent report by the Council of State Governments called “Acceptance and Use of Electronic Payments for State Taxes and Fees,” state governments are increasingly using electronic payments as a method to collect taxes and fees. Of the 33 states that replied, 30 states said they were using an electronic payment program and most said they were planning on expanding it.

What were the reported benefits to state governments?
The following were the most commonly cited benefits and considered the most important:

• Decreased processing costs

• Reduced processing time

• Lower delinquency rates

• Faster transaction verification

• Increased security and accuracy

• Added convenience for taxpayers

See complete report

Just as businesses are realizing the importance of collecting payments more efficiently, so are government institutions. (And typically government is behind the trend. So if you’re a business without electronic payments, you’re way behind!)

Whether you’re collecting a local tourist tax, driver’s license fee, or state income tax, government offices will reap the benefits of increased efficiencies and taxpayers will appreciate the convenience and expediency.

Read about how PaySimple integrated electronic payments with a local government tax collection system.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Technorati Tags: State Governments, Electronic Payments, Taxes

Posted by Sarah Jordan

To give a quick breakdown of the recent Payments 2007 conference—hosted by NACHA, The Electronic Payments Association—ACH payments grew by 2 billion transactions across all payment types and totaled almost 16 billion transactions in 2006. The Federal government exceeded 1 billion ACH payments for the first time, and financial institutions originated the remaining 15 billion for consumer and business payments.

Major areas of growth for consumer and business payments in 2006 include:

• Consumers made almost 8 billion ACH payments via direct-debits, Internet and telephone transactions, and check conversions.

• Check conversion increased by 32 percent to 2.8 billion.

• ACH payments made over the Internet (WEB transactions) grew by 35 percent to 1.8 billion.

• Business to business ACH payments increased by 10.9 percent to 2.3 billion.

Meanwhile, in other areas of the payment processing world, paper check usage decreased by 4 percent.

Read full article from NACHA

Learn more about ACH

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Technorati Tags: NACHA, ACH, business payments, Check conversion, payment processing

Posted by Sarah Jordan

The new 2007 Consumer Bill Payment Survey conducted by Harris Interactive and Marketing Workshop showed that, for the first time, households with Internet connections are paying more bills online (39%) than with paper checks (34%). More than ever before, consumers are realizing the benefits of electronic payments and are considering online bill pay to be a service they demand rather than a nice feature. See full article.

So what does all of this mean to small business owners? In an age where consumers are less brand-conscious a more feature and cost focused, consumers are more likely to pick a service that has the options and flexibility they need—including payment options. Can you accept online payments, set up recurring billing schedules, or directly debit a checking account? If your answer is “no,” you may be falling behind other businesses trying to keep up with consumer demands.

The good news is accepting online payments is a win-win situation for you and your customers. They get to easily and quickly pay from their computers, and all you have to do is watch the money deposit to your account. If you’re a small to medium-sized business owner trying to compete in the marketplace, online bill pay is an easy, inexpensive way to do it.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Technorati Tags: electronic payments, online bill pay, small business, payment options, online payments, recurring billing