ACH processing fees are far less expensive than typical credit card transactions. Since ACH bypasses the debit and credit card networks, interchange and assessment fees are eliminated entirely. With layered security protections, easy, automated solutions for customers, and the potential to save loads of money, ACH processing should be seriously considered if you don’t already have it on your website.
Consumer and customer benefits
Nobody likes to miss a bill payment—even when you can pay that bill 10 times over, dates can still slip by. Your customers get frustrated when they’ve missed a payment and have to pay additional fees.
Customers have complete control over their use of ACH on your website. They can select automatic payment options if they’d like to make a recurring payment or make payments at their convenience. Customers are in control of their account, which saves you both time.
The downside to this setup is that it’s up to the customer to ensure whether they have enough funds to make a payment from their checking account or not. But customers can also rest easy knowing they are making a safe payment. It can be a little more tricky to persuade the customers into sharing routing and account banking information numbers with you, but for automatic payments, this is a serious convenience. However, those bank numbers will only be exposed once. If your business commonly accepts recurring payments, then ACH might be a great option for you.
Benefits for your business
Yes, ACH payments are more difficult to reverse, and they aren’t immediate. However, with security measures in place, it’s more difficult for hackers, criminals, or other con artists to get ahold of your customers’ funds. Since customers need a US bank account usually, it’s easier to verify identification of the recipient.
Of course, the initial driver in integration ACH into your website is the far lowered cost on credit card processing fees. At a flat rate, ACH processing fees per transaction typically are at a .30 range. Credit card processing rates include a discount fee averaging at 2.7-2.9% as well as a per-transaction fee. The more payments that you process, the lower your fees will be.
How to incorporate ACH on your website
A payment processor is necessary to implement ACH on your website. With a payment processor, you can partner with them to demonstrate the mission of your website, how your website functions, the details of your business model, and so on. ACH integrations on your website are typically quite simple—as simple as a line of code. With a good payment processor, you’ll also be able to keep detailed records of payments down to the transaction level. Reliafund also ensures PCI compliant transactions, which means that your customers’ data is protected by powerful measures.
How do you know whether ACH processing is a good fit for your business or not?
You can speak with a qualified payment processor today to discuss your options. We’re here to deliver guidance about how to optimize your customers’ experience.