If there was any doubt about how common electronic funds transfers (EFTs) and credit cards have become for Canadian businesses, a recent Payments Canada report put it to rest. In 2020, EFTs made up 25% of total business payment value in this country, while credit cards accounted for 24%.   

That credit card number in particular was unheard of just five years previous. But as that Payments Canada report suggests, there have been four key drivers of credit card usage among businesses recently: payment acceptance, rewards, perceived convenience, and easier control of payments.

It’s no secret that money is a huge contributor of stress to people, and tax season just seems to shine a great big spotlight on the issue. Money takes center stage at tax time, even if you’ve been able to brush it under the rug up until this point. This stress is multiplied significantly if you are an Accountant or Bookkeeper.

Accountants Tally Up the Stress

Does tax season mean late nights in the office followed by a McDonald’s run? As deadlines approach, do you start to develop a twitch in one eye? These are signs that you may need to take steps to manage your stress.

In 1985, William Loewen had grown Comcheq to a national company with 22 branches stretching out across Canada. At the time, Canadians living remotely didn’t have a way to make their bill payments in a timely fashion. Bill payments weren’t available by phone and the internet didn’t exist so people had to mail cheques to their creditors; a slow process indeed.

Bill recognized the need for a better way to pay and thus, Telpay was born. This innovative, new technology gave Canadians the option to pay their bills quickly, conveniently, and in a way which they had never imagined possible; by phone. By 2004, Telpay had grown from telephone payments to electronic payments and continued to evolve into the all-in-one payment system it is today.

Pre-Authorized Debits (PADs) can be the most efficient and cost-effective way for consumers and businesses to make certain payments such as a mortgage, utility, membership dues, and insurance.

Payments Canada recently proposed several amendments to the Pre-Authorized Debits Rule, last reviewed in 2008. With the increasing level of technological advancements and market demands of Canadians who want greater flexibility and choice of Payment Service Providers (PSPs), Payments Canada is proposing changes to the PADs Rule to meet these evolving needs.

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One of your employees has informed you that they did not receive their payroll direct deposit. What happened? What will happen to the funds that you have sent them? There are several reasons why this employee may not have received their funds but the most common reason is they may have overlooked informing you of a change in their banking or personal information.

Here are some best practices that may help to reduce the risk of this happening to your employees.

Send Out Quarterly Reminders for Profile Updates

Sending out quarterly email reminders to employees with a read-receipt request allows them ample time to update their banking or personal information and will keep you in the loop as to who has read the email and who hasn’t for easier follow-up. Also, for security reasons, accepting a change of information via email is not recommended.

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