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Checks by Phone, Fax & E-mail
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 Electronic Checks

What It Is and How It Works

Checks by Phone, Fax & E-mail software

This is one type of payment solution you may not be familiar with. It's commonly referred to by some as e-check or i-check. It's been around for quite some time and makes a perfect alternative payment solution to credit cards for those people who would rather not give their credit card information over the Internet. It allows you to collect payment via check over the phone, by fax, and even off your order form on your web site. This type of solution is cheaper then credit card acceptance, but should not be the sole method for payment acceptance.

This is a very simple process. First you collect the customers check information off the bottom of the check, then enter the information into a special checks by phone/fax/e-mail program. After you enter in the information you simply print out the check on either regular paper or special check paper that is usually pretty cheap to obtain. You can then take the check to your local bank for deposit.

E-Checks solution

If you use Real-Time credit card processing on your website, most all Real-Time payment gateway companies (i.e. Authorize.Net, ECHO Inc., Creative Cash Flow Solutions, VeriSign, etc.) are capable of processing e-checks for a minimal fee. Not only will you be able to process e-checks automatically but you can also opt to process them manually through the gateway company's "Virtual Terminal" which is used to manually process transactions via your web browser. Service add-ons such as Check Verification and Check Guarantee can be added to an e-check service for an additional fee.

In conclusion, if you were to choose between one of the two methods of processing checks above the E-Checks solution is a much easier, and paperless way to process check transactions. It is also cheaper since you don't have to buy special check printing paper or spend extra money for printer ink. Plus E-Checks saves you a trip from having to go to your bank to make deposits.

Who Needs This Solution?

E-Check acceptance is a great alternative payment solution that any business can benefit from. No matter if you're retail, mail order/telephone order, or Internet you will be sure to benefit from adding this your other payment acceptance methods. Not everyone has a credit card or wish to use it freely, offering an e-check service will attract a much broader customer base.

Electronic Check Resources

These companies can help set you up with checks by phone, fax & e-mail for your business:

• Creative Cash Flow Solutions

• XpressChex

• SmartChex

• Checkmatic Software Products

• Checks by Fax

For an Internet E-Check acceptance solution, check with your secure payment gateway company (Authorize.Net, iTransact, Verisign, ECHO, Creative Cash Flow Solutions, etc.) for details on their E-check acceptance solution.

Retail businesses should strongly look towards an Electronic Check Conversion with Imaging solution which takes paper checks and converts them into electronic checks for processing. Once converted, the paper check is given back to the customer and the electronic payment is processed using ACH.

Know of a good E-Checks or Checks by Phone/Fax/E-mail provider?
Let us know!