What is an echeck? With the rise of online industry, many companies and consumers are turning to newer, electronic forms of payment. The echeck is one of these forms. An echeck is a simple way to electronically transfer funds from your account to the payee’s account.
The echeck, or electronic check, has much in common with its paper predecessor, the check. An echeck is a method of payment that is deducted directly from the account of your choosing (typically a checking account). Like a paper check, the echeck requires several pieces of information from the check writer: a payee, an amount, and bank account and routing information.
Another similarity between the paper check and the echeck is the time needed for a check to clear both banks. While an echeck will get where it is going much faster than a mailed paper check, the echeck and the paper check both undergo the process of clearing the bank. For the buyer, this can be a nice thing, because the funds sit in your account just a tiny bit longer accruing interest.
There are a few other minor similarities between echecks and paper checks. First, an echeck is often given a number just like a paper check. This provides easy access for tracking. Another similarity is that since an echeck is withdrawn from an account, if there are insufficient funds in the account, the check will bounce. If you choose to use echecks be sure you have the money in your account first.
As an ecommerce business, it is easy to start accepting echecks, and can offer your potential customers one more way of making a purchase from you. The main advantage of using echecks is you will have full confidence of getting your money without the fraud possibilities associated with paper checks. While you won’t have an instant payment, sometimes taking 3 to 4 days before you receive your funds, the instantaneous nature of an echeck can easily outweigh the waiting period for the normal mailing process.
In short, an echeck is an electronic version of a paper check. While it shares many features with a paper check, it provides greater speed and security than a paper check. No longer do you have to mail your check and hope it makes it to your intended payee. With echecks you have the security and speed available to all electronic payments.
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