In Part 2, I’ll discuss concerns that surface when working with companies to implement an ACH or check printing payments project.
Check to ACH:
The benefits of moving from check to ACH payments are many with a reduction in costs being one of the most significant. But for nearly all Payers, moving to ACH means gathering and storing supplier’s banking information. Securing this information is critical because a data breach has the potential to become a large liability. A key responsibility of maintaining this information in your systems would include physical, process and technical controls, regular security reviews and the establishment of an incident response plan. Increasingly we are talking with businesses who would like to reduce this risk and instead have the information maintained by a service provider such as SunGard with proven systems, knowledge and expertise to best secure financial information.
Check Printing:
Some companies wonder whether their check print volume is large enough to justify outsourcing. But check printing costs are higher than people realize when the cost of all of the inputs such as MICR toner, check stock, envelopes, postage and labor are included. People are surprised to find out that check payments can cost $2-3 per check or more. SunGard is able reduce that cost significantly. Our online site, Leaving the Check Behind, explains in more detail.
Often, A/P departments have a need to print a small percentage of their checks in-house. This does not preclude outsourcing as there is no requirement to outsource everything. Companies can still reap the cost-savings by outsourcing most of their check printing and maintaining fewer supplies on-hand.
Have you implemented a payment project? We’d like to hear your concerns.
