Member Benefit News

Electronic Check Services Reducing Risk & Increasing Efficiency

It may cost more than a dollar to process a paper check when you include bank fees, handling costs and check losses. In comparison, an electronic check can be processed more quickly and efficiently, for much less.

• Electronic checks eliminate the time consuming hassle of making check deposits.
• Electronic checks speed access to your funds and mitigate the risk of check acceptance.
• Electronic checks can help stop unexpected debits to your account for non-sufficient funds (NSF), closed accounts or uncollected funds.
• The federal government ruled that an electronic image of a check is a valid copy.

"When the total cost of handling a paper check from the time of acceptance to when it is processed is compared to that of an electronic check, electronic checks cost about 35% to 50% less to handle," declares Amy Gutierrez, vice president and general manager, electronic check services for Elavon. "Lower operating costs are a tangible benefit for businesses."

Further benefit to your business from electronic check acceptance is the option to select which level of service would be better suited to your business environment. Service levels range from simply verifying the check is "good" to a "guarantee" option eliminating returned items and the need for collections while securing settled funds to improve your cash management efficiencies.

This information is brought to you by Elavon. Call Kimberly Layton with questions or for more information on the credit card processing program at 1-866-638-8614.

Reprinted from Central Vac Professional, January 2010