Check processing

Credit cards are the preferred means of payment for consumers the world over, but not everyone in the world is ready to give up using checks. Americans alone still write billions of checks every year, and the number globally is many times that. While businesses need to change with the times, and in fact are developing various electronic payment systems, they also need to accommodate consumers who write checks.
Contrary to some credit card commercials that show checkout lines stopping when someone pulls out a checkbook, check processing can be completed almost as swiftly as card payments. Writing a check will not cause a buyer to hold up the line (and make the music stop), and the check processing capabilities you employ will ensure that you can make every sale, regardless of consumer payment preference.

Flexible and fast

Some credit card account providers and acquiring banks would rather not deal with their merchants’ check processing needs, as any process involving paper is more time-consuming than one that stays in the virtual world of 1’s and 0’s. There are now several methods of check processing, however, and they are effective, secure and speedy, too.
One approach is to use a specially equipped scanner in conjunction with a credit card terminal, whether physical or virtual (software on a PC). The scanned image is important, as are the routing and account numbers on the bottom of the check, which can be keyed in if a scanner is not available. The keying process, of course, can be used alone, too, as long as the merchant account has been set up in advance with a check processing option.

Improving Profits through check acceptance

If other systems fail, or you have not yet added a check processing capability to your merchant account, there is always the trusty telephone. Your merchant account provider’s customer service representatives can assist you in check processing right over the phone, although this is the costliest option for that very reason (time and energy, in other words). This is the option to use when all else fails, actually.

new technology does make it possible to offer check guarantee from any outlet in the country. A merchant processing check payments in Miami can get the same security as a merchant accepting retail check payments in Seattle.
Of course, if you normally operate on a “store and send” method, where you batch your credit card charges for transmission at the end of the business day (or night), you may also be able to do the same with check processing. This would be something to discuss with your customer service representative. In fact, if you get a good number of checks still in your business, you should make sure to inquire as to the best check processing system to set up for your particular operation.