Over the past few years, ACH payments have been becoming more and more popular. In 2020, there was a huge spike in the use of ACH payments, as it is contactless by nature. However, while ACH payments might be one of the more efficient, convenient, and quick ways to send and receive money, are they safe? Whether you want to accept ACH payments for your business or are interested in using them more as a customer, it’s always good to be aware of any potential risks and how to mitigate them.
Risks of ACH Payments
Unless you do all business in cash and collect payment in advance before providing a product or service to your customer, there are always going to be some risks involved no matter what payment methods you offer. Even with cash, there is also the risk of being paid in fake notes. With ACH payments, there are some potential risks such as when one party fails to make a payment. There are also scammers out there who can get access to account details and then carry out unauthorized debit payments from an account that belongs to somebody else. The good news is that in these situations, most banks will support the victim and there are procedures in place to recover the funds.
How Safe Are ACH Payments?
Compared to other payment methods that are available today, ACH payments continue to be some of the safest and most secure. Less than 1% of all ACH transactions are returned as unauthorized. This is largely in part due to the strict bank account verification processes that are in place, such as instant verification with Yodlee. Yodlee offers an instant verification process that is secure and reliable, enabling businesses to ensure that the account does in fact belong to the person or company who says it is.
Other Benefits of ACH Payments
If you want to start accepting ACH payments from your customers, you can have peace of mind that this is a secure and mostly safe way to pay. Some of the other benefits involved with accepting ACH payments from customers include:
- Convenience: Customers may be more likely to do business with you if they can make ACH payments, as they tend to be more convenient, efficient, and less time-consuming compared to other payment types such as cash, writing and mailing a check, or even paying with debit or credit card.
- Fast Processing: Compared to other payment types, ACH transfers can be in your bank faster. 1-2 business days is the maximum as the payments are processed in bulk each day. You can also get payments processed faster for a fee.
- Cheaper: Compared to accepting credit card payments with the huge transaction fees that are involved with this, you can save money by accepting ACH payments as the fees for merchants are much lower.
ACH payments are only becoming more popular, so it’s natural that you might be looking into accepting them from your customers. The good news is that, along with all the other benefits that this payment method offers, it is also very secure.
