Whether your business has a single employee or 10,000 employees, check payment processing is an essential detail that cannot be overlooked. Improved payment processing strategies are among the surest ways to make sure that both incoming and outgoing cash flows are exactly where they need to be.
The term “payment processing” can be used to describe an incredibly wide array of functions. Things such as turning accounts receivable into tangible cash, paying your regular vendors, and setting up digital payment systems can all fall within the broader payment processing umbrella.
Even today’s largest and most successful Fortune 500 companies are still looking for ways to evolve their general approach to payment processing systems. In fact, if businesses aren’t taking active measures to evolve and bring their payment processes into the 21st Century, they will end up falling behind, regardless of how successful they’ve been in the past.
If your business is hoping to establish a competitive advantage, payment processing is one of the best places to begin making changes. In this article, we will discuss how some of today’s most successful companies have leveraged new payment processing services in order to improve operations and enhance their bottom line.
Transitioning to the World of Digital Payment Processing
In the modern era, there is no surprise that many businesses have taken their payment processes entirely online. After all, according to recent estimates, according to the United States Census, eCommerce activity now accounts for 10.2 percent of all sales within the country. Moving payment processes into the digital space allow businesses to handle cash flows more efficiently and also reduce costs.
In order for your business to have a successful digital payment processing system, you will need to begin by building a universally accessible payment portal. There, you will have the opportunity to carefully monitor the status of all payments, generate reports, create statements, and make any changes as needed.
Using cloud technology can make it easy for business owners to access their accounts from anywhere in the world. Other new developments, such as accelerated payments and automatic red flagging, also make it easier for business owners and financial managers to remain entirely in control.
SOC 1 Type 2 Compliance
Service Organization Control (SOC) is a standard that ensures all service providers “securely manage your data to protect the interest of your organization and the privacy of its clients.” In a time where digital fraud and loss of confidentiality have become ubiquitous, adhering to basic SOC 1 Type 2 standards is especially important. A SOC 1 Type 2 Report will be conducted over the course of approximately six months. The purpose of the report is to verify that all processes, confidentiality measures, and security measures are able to fulfill all legal and industry-imposed requirements.
PCI Compliance
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) is one that is frequently scrutinized and, in response, has created a rigid set of standards that all card processors need to adhere to. Failing to meet these standards can result in fines of $10,000 or even more for large businesses.
In order to assure you are PCI compliant, you will need to choose a payment processing partner that has various protection mechanisms such as data tokenization. Fortunately, there are plenty of high-quality companies available for you to choose from. To avoid running into future financial issues, be sure that PCI compliance is made a top priority.
HIPAA Compliance
While you should do everything you can to protect all information regarding your customers and business partners, medical and financial information are considered even more important. In fact, for more than two decades, HIPAA has created a set of confidentiality standards that all companies in the medical industry absolutely must adhere to.
HIPAA standards are often ambiguous and can be difficult to fully interpret. Because of this, many of today’s top medical companies choose to outsource their payment processing needs to partners that are familiar with HIPAA. With a HIPAA-certified partner, you can be confident that all statements, bills, and medical payments are handled with care and respect.
Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)
In an era where seemingly everything has been transitioned into a digital space, many businesses worry about their data being compromised or lost. By storing all payment data in the cloud, on a physical hard drive, and somewhere else as a backup, you’ll reduce the risk of having something go terribly wrong. Unsurprisingly, many of today’s Fortune 500 companies invest significant amounts of money in their “just in case” plans.
Additionally, you’ll also want to make sure that if something, such as a natural disaster, we’re to occur, your business would still have the means to make and process all of its payments. Keeping additional checks and servers in a separate location can help reduce operational risk. While taking extra steps to protect payment processes can sometimes be a pain, it is certainly worth the initial investment.
Outsourced Payment Processing Services – Conclusion
From start to finish, the entire payment process is much more intensive than most businesses initially assume. It can be very easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of effort it takes to keep these systems up and running. In order to save time, money, and focus on the revenue-generating portions of their business, many CEOs and Fortune 500 companies make the choice to outsource their payment processes to a specialist.
Both small and large businesses can significantly benefit from investing in enhanced payment processing systems. State-of-the-art payment processing is especially important in the modern era, where an increasing amount of commerce takes place entirely online. Unsurprising, many of today’s top payment processing partners have an explicitly digital focus.
With the right payment processing company by your side, you can know that all payments are fully secure, accurate, and made at the correct times. Because payment processing is perhaps the most important component of the business cycle—after all, without payments, it doesn’t matter what’s on your income statement—making the choice to outsource should be an easy decision.
SmartPayables offers outsourced payment processing services for Fortune 500 companies and small and medium-sized businesses. For more information on outsourcing checks, payments, or other types of mailed documents, contact SmartPayables here.
Founded in 2005, Smart Payables offers a full range of accounts payable payment solutions including outsourced check printing and mailing, document and statement printing and mailing, ACH direct deposits + more. Our highly experienced software developers and intelligent printing teams specialize in secure, enterprise-grade payment options that are HIPAA, SOC 1 Type 2, and ISO compliant. Our mission is to help businesses and large organizations implement secure, innovative technology that will reduce overhead and improve business operations and capabilities.