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Stripe Tutorials

ACH Payments: How to Have This Payment Processing

Payment Online

If you’ve made an electronic payment through Venmo, PayPal, or directly through your bank account, you’ve likely participated in ACH payments as a consumer. However, not every eCommerce manager will have a strong grasp of its intricacies. If you’re thinking about accepting ACH deposits as a small business owner, understanding how it functions as an alternative to cash, credit cards, debit cards, and checks will determine whether or not you should stake your claim in this rising network. 

What is an ACH Payment?

An Automated Clearing House is a U.S. financial network that facilitates automatic transfers between banks. The network is regulated by the federal government and the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA). 

ACH payments function in the form of:

  • Individuals making electronic deposits to other individuals via online banking, Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle
  • Individuals paying service providers (cable, electric, gas, etc) online
  • Direct payroll deposits
  • Fund transfers between bank accounts
  • Direct tax refund deposits
  • Business transfer funds

The 2 Types of ACH Transactions

The two main types of ACH transactions differ based on the directionality of the processing. These encompass: 

  • Direct ACH deposits, in which deposit transactions made by consumers, businesses, or other entities are made directly to other bank accounts—whether their own or between individuals. 
  • Direct ACH payments, in which individuals, businesses, or other entities pull money from these accounts. This method is commonly used for recurring payments. 

How ACH Payments Work

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of how ACH payment processing occurs. 

  1. Originators, such as individuals, banks, or businesses, initiate an ACH transaction through a payment form that is differentiated as a direct payment or deposit. 
  2. The originating bank or payment processor, known as an Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI) submits the entry. 
  3. The ODFI sends entry batches to an ACH operator according to a predetermined schedule.
  4. The operator sorts through batches of entries to determine whether they are deposits or payments.
  5. The operator then transmits these entries to their respective Receiving Depository Financial Institutions (RDFI).
  6. If the transaction involves pulling funds, the receiving bank ensures that there is a sufficient amount of funds in the ODFI. 
  7. The RDFI will then debit or credit the receiver’s account depending on whether the transaction is a deposit or payment. 

How Safe are ACH Transactions?

For an ACH payment to be transmitted, it will require the exchange of sensitive bank information such as routing numbers, bank account numbers, and the type of account involved. Recurring payments will require the exchange of business bank account details as well. 

However, as previously stated, this information is regulated and protected by the federal government and NACHA, under which financial institutions, businesses, credit unions, industry providers, and government agencies must abide by strict guidelines. Hence, the safest payment processors are those that comply with NACHA regulations. 

ACH Payment Processing Times

ACH transactions are usually processed in batches three times a day during business hours. If your business accepts these types of payments, it may take a few days for the funds to be delivered to your business bank account. To be eligible for same-day payment processing, you may need to fund an expedited service. 

The Pros and Cons of ACH Payments

If you’re considering an ACH payment processor for your small business, consider the following advantages and drawbacks. 

Pros

  • Lower processing fees determined as a flat rate or percentage of the transaction
  • Easy to accept from paying customers across the country
  • Transactions are automatically recorded and can be easily accessed through an online portal

Cons

  • Accepts only domestic transactions
  • Not every provider offers same-day fund processing

Conclusion

On the whole, integrating an ACH payment processor into your transaction scheme is a simple process. However, it’s important to consider whether the costs of this transaction method outweigh the benefits it guarantees to  your business . Note whether your customers are willing to provide their bank information and if  payments for your products and services are easier facilitated using cash or credit. 

If you’re accepting online payments, Payment Page caters to clients from all around the world. Create a more seamless payment process for easier purchases with a hosted payment page that is as stunning as it is functional.

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Stripe Tutorials

How to Accept ACH Payments Through Stripe: A Guide

Person on their computer

The United States offers a humongous market share, one that most businesses highly covet. Due to this, the market has become saturated, as entrepreneurs offering the same products and services scramble to get ahead. How do you gain a competitive advantage in such a marketplace? The answer is simple—offer a diverse payment method, particularly one that includes the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network.

ACH allows credit and debit transfers, enabling customers to send money from their respective bank accounts to a US bank account. Although quite new to the scene, the ACH network saw over 24.7 billion payments in 2019 alone, making it one of the most reliable and safest payment systems today. 

Collecting payments using the ACH credit is relatively easy. You only need to provide a routing and account number to your customers. The paying customer will then initiate the payment from their bank account, but take note that funds can take two to three business days to arrive. 

Direct debit payments, on the other hand, allow you to collect payments directly from your customers’s US bank accounts. You will need their bank account details, as well as permission to gain access into their debit account. Unlike the credit transfer, ACH debit payments can take up to five business days. 

Despite the waiting time, it’s undeniable that adopting the ACH payment system is a business opportunity you shouldn’t pass up. The best part about the ACH payment process is that it can be integrated into your Stripe account—here’s how it works. 

How does the ACH credit transfer process work?

  • Step 1: Once your customer is ready for payment, they’ll proceed to check out the items for payment. They will be asked to choose a payment option, allowing them to choose AHC credit should they wish.
  • Step 2: The interface will lead them to your company’s bank details, as they need these to process the payment.
  • Step 3: Once details have been inputted, they can now send the money into your bank account.
  • Step 4: Upon successful completion, the customer will be notified through a confirmation message.

How do the ACH debits work? 

Step 1: Once satisfied with the items, the customer will be able to choose the ACH debit upon checkout.

Step 2: They will be asked to enter their bank details at a secure interface.

Step 3: Once done, they will receive a payment initiation confirmation. Their funds will then be transferred to your bank account. 

What can the ACH payment method do for my business?

You’ll enjoy faster processing times 

Although payments aren’t immediately available, the ACH payment processing is still faster than checks. Seeing as it’s fully automated and digital, making trips to the bank for check deposits have been eliminated. Hands-free and convenient, your customers will be able to enjoy business transactions at the comfort of their own homes.

Processing costs are relatively lower, making it another business advantage 

Why do people enjoy ACH payment options? Transaction feeds are cheaper than credit cards. You’ll only be shelling out flat fees of $0.20 to $1.50 per transaction, making it another business advantage you must consider investing in. 

Build Your Business Foundation Through a Payment Page Builder 

As we progress further into the digital world, the US market becomes even more competitive. Businesses offering the same products and services exhaust all means to gain attention, such as marketing, advertising, and other methods of promotion. What many overlook is that gaining a competitive advantage can be quite simple—your choice of payment methods, for instance, can be enough to help you gain solid leads. For the best entrepreneurs,  business always means choosing to work smart!

To help you get started, Payment Page is here to help. As a hosted payment page, we’ll help you build your business with the right payment methods, all integrated with Stripe. Expanding your business doesn’t have to be difficult. Allow us to assist you—reach out to us today. 

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eCommerce

5 Payment Options Your SMB Should Integrate in 2021

Mastercard Debit Card

As businesses continue to innovate and incorporate various forms of technology into their operations, there are now dozens of options by which customers can complete financial transactions with your business online. In this article, we’ll focus on 5 key methods for accepting payments in 2021.

Credit and Debit Cards

As of 2021, 80% of customers prefer to make transactions using a credit card and are, in fact, willing to spend 100% more on products and services when using one. How you go about accepting these types of payments will depend on what kind of business you operate. 

If you’re a brick-and-mortar business, you’ll need a merchant account and card reader to accept credit cards. Merchant accounts allow businesses to receive payments in various ways. 

If you run an ecommerce business, you’ll need a payment gateway to accept online credit and debit card transactions. This will encrypt all information submitted by customers on your payment page, ensuring that their details remain safe and confidential. You don’t want to take any chances with information security, so be sure you’re employing a payment gateway that is PCI (payment card industry) compliant. 

ACH Processing

Monitored by the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Association, this payment method allows customers to disclose their bank account details and routing numbers for online payments. ACH processing is a popular method of accepting subscription or recurring payments. 

It’s proven advantageous to many SMBs, as it comes with lower fees compared to those that accept credit or debit cards. It’s also far more secure than accepting monthly written checks. 

Finally, ACH processing can save your business a lot of time, as payments are automatically withdrawn once you enter the customer’s information into your system. Ultimately, this will improve your cash flow and create a more predictable revenue pattern. 

Stripe is a payment gateway that supports ACH payments of many kinds with a Plaid integration. 

Recurring Billing Subscriptions

To make the working relationship easier between you and your customers and facilitate payments for products and services of all kinds, you can provide your customers with the option to sign up for a subscription plan. Using their debit or credit card, they can make automatic monthly payments that are convenient for them and guarantee that your business is paid on time, providing you and your customers with peace of mind.

PayPal, Stripe, and Square

If you’re using PayPal, Stripe, or Square, you won’t need to set up a merchant account. However, which method you choose will depend on the type of business you run, so be sure to research features that best suit your operations. Of the three, PayPal is among the top 3 highest-ranking eWallets online. 

Contactless Payment Systems

A new trend in the U.S. is that you can now accept payments wirelessly by asking customers to wave their card or device over a POS system. Without the need to enter a PIN or even scan a card, contactless payment systems are becoming increasingly popular in places like the U.K. and Australia. 

As the U.S. has been slow to adopt the trend, your business can take advantage of how Visa and Mastercard are beginning to offer contactless cards to customers. Additionally, mobile wallet methods such as Android or Apple Pay are becoming increasingly popular with mobile users. 

Payment Solution

Implementing new payment methods onto your website can be complex and take up a valuable amount of time. If you’re a SMB and need to accept online payments, you can team up with us at Payment Page. With our payment page solution, you can start accepting online payments in just a few easy steps using any of the gateways or payment options mentioned above.

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Business

3 Online Payment Options Your Business Should Consider

Man holding his Credit Card

With opportunities for online growth becoming far more abundant, your business may have an easier time than you might think making your online presence profitable.

Amid all the tremendous changes that have been happening in the e-commerce marketplace, one strategy you can prioritize to ensure profitability is adding more payment options for your customers.

Why the number of payment options you offer matters

It is now more important to provide your consumers with as many payment options as you can. Methods such as Credit Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and ACH, can provide your business with the necessary means to make your products or services much more available to your customers.

Although it may seem quite simplistic at first, undertaking this very task opens up a wide range of opportunities to conduct even more transactions. The main reason this simple approach works so well is that more and more customers seek convenience in their checkout experience.

By taking advantage of the opportunity to add more payment options to your checkout page, you can make the overall purchasing experience much more comfortable for customers, which is a big incentive in itself. To best understand how your business can capitalize on this technology, let’s go over three online payment options that you should consider:

Credit card processing

Among all the different payment options that online businesses can provide, credit card processing still holds its place as one of the most popular options that customers seek.

With the proper credit card processing system and a linked internet merchant account, you can customize your website with a payment option that allows customers to comfortably make payments in a matter of seconds. Fortunately, setting up a payment page doesn’t have to be a complicated process as today’s hosted payment page options—such as Payment Page—can handle the task for you without the need for you to set up an entire website!

If you’re the DIY kind of person, there’s also a free WordPress plugin to get started.

Automated Clearing House (ACH)

ACH payments are electronic payments that get processed through the Automated Clearing House network. A centralized system then serves as a middleman to facilitate the transfer of funds from one bank account to the intended destination.

Although ACH payments require more information to carry out a transaction—bank name, account number, ABA routing number, and the name of the account owner—this option is cheaper due to lower processing fees compared to traditional checks and credit cards. It’s easier to track, too, with electronic records automatically collected with every transaction.

Apple Pay and Google Pay

Contactless mobile payment systems like Apple Pay and Google Pay are gaining traction these days due to their speed and efficiency. There is no longer a need to slide a card at a point of sale (POS) terminal — all it takes is for the customer to hold their device near a payment terminal (an NFC reader) to complete the transaction. This type of payment option allows for quick and hassle-free transfers, improved efficiency, easy implementation, and enhanced security. 

Final Thoughts

Thanks to modern online payment options, businesses now have a valuable opportunity to make their consumer experiences far more convenient than before. With the help of the right option in place, you’ll be able to see tremendous results in your UX and profit rates in no time!

Payment Page is a WordPress plugin and Website-as-a-Service that allows you to create a simple and easily customizable payment page with your own payment gateways, providing customers a more convenient experience of conducting transactions with your business on the internet. If you want to set up a beautifully designed payment page to accept customer payments, you can get started today. .

Payment Page, an innovative WordPress payment plugin, helps you create a customizable payment form in less than 60 seconds.

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