Not long ago, writing personal cheques was a regular way to pay for groceries and movie rentals. Today, not only would it be difficult to find a movie rental store, but it would be archaic to pull out a chequebook at the cashier and write out a cheque to pay for daily purchases.
Electronic payments have become a more widespread and acceptable form of payment. From telephone bill payments to online banking and now, mobile payments on the go, electronic payment transactions have become part of our daily life.
Despite the conveniences of electronic payments for our personal payments, many businesses are still writing cheques to pay their suppliers.
We believe there are 4 myths that are holding businesses back from making electronic payments to suppliers.
Myth 1: Electronic business payments are not efficient
What could be more efficient than taking a manual process and making it automated? Electronic business payments allow you to move from manually writing cheques, stuffing envelopes, sticking stamps and walking to the mailbox, to paying all of your expenses with a simple click of a button. When you gain efficiency in your payables process, you also expedite your funds availability and increase your cash flow.
Myth 2: Electronic business payments are too expensive
Have you ever calculated the total cost of writing a cheque? It costs upwards of $5.00* to write and process a cheque. This cost breakdown includes postage, cheque stock, envelopes, printer ink, bank clearing fees and working hours dedicated to cheques processing. Electronic business payments eliminate the costs associated with the cheque assembly process and simplify your costs with a simple 50 cent transaction fee**.
Myth 3: Electronic business payments are complicated
Similar to any new automated process, there will be a learning curve when adopting electronic payments; however, electronic business payments can be set up and ready to go in as little as 5 business days***. It is easy for your business to set up suppliers to receive electronic payments , and there is no work on your supplier’s end to receive the payments.
Myth 4: Electronic business payments are not secure
Have you ever thought about the risks involved with putting a cheque in the mail? For those of you who have experienced cheque fraud, you have likely never put a cheque in the mail again. For those of you who have not had to deal with cheque fraud, consider that each time you mail a cheque, you are sending out your banking information attached to your signature and trusting that it arrives in the hands of the right person. Electronic payments completely eliminate the risk of cheque fraud by safely deposit funds into your supplier’s bank account.
Now that these myths have been busted, I’m sure you are eager to learn more about electronic payments. To learn more about Telpay’s electronic payment software visit www.telpay.ca
*Based on Telpay client calculations
**Telpay’s electronic business to business payment fee
*** Telpay’s electronic business to business software requires 5-7 business days for set up.