How can you optimize the collection of your online cheque payments?

Are you an e-tailer who accepts or would like to accept cheques as a means of payment?
First of all, this is always a very good initiative.
Cheques are still a popular means of payment, even on the Internet.
In 2019, an estimated 1.5 billion check payments were made in France.
This makes online check payments of great interest to businesses.
Find out how to optimize your check cashing so you can benefit from the full power of this payment method.

Manage cheque payment requests online

The first step is to manage the check as an online payment method.
Accepting payment by cheque is not as simple as it sounds.
In theory, you simply leave the choice to the customer.
In practice, however, it’s a matter of informing the customer, receiving the cheques, processing them, cashing them and finally confirming and processing the order.

Cheque processing times

As you know, the procedure for cashing a cheque is fully formalized.
You have to deposit the cheque at the bank, specifying the amount, the number, the issuer, the bank and the receiver.
It’s a long and time-consuming procedure, requiring you to process cheque after cheque. Reducing processing time will therefore require a certain amount of organization, and a structured procedure that should help you to improve the handling process.
However, even the most optimal procedures will require your employees to spend part of their time processing the cheques.
What’s more, processing several cheques in a row can quickly lead to data entry errors.
Once again, verifying information will be a time-consuming task.

Delegate check processing and cashing

So many steps and so many actions that this method of payment quickly scares companies.
To reduce the time spent on cheques, it is possible to delegate some or all of their processing.
SSPCollect’s dematerialized check management solution enables you to fully delegate the management of this payment method to a company specialized and expert in check management and processing.

Protecting yourself against unpaid cheques

The challenge for cheques remains fraud or non-payment.
Although the risks incurred by the issuer help to dissuade fraud, some cheques are still returned unpaid.
In this context, there are two possible solutions for protecting yourself and recovering the amount of the cheque.

Protect yourself against forged cheques ….

Thanks to a check number verification system, this check can be coupled with a check fraud detection tool such as Chèque Service.
The system assigns a score to the cheque and alerts you if there is any doubt.
If no fraud is reported, the service guarantees the check in the event of non-payment.

… and deadbeats

The upsurge in bounced checks has prompted companies to become increasingly wary of checks.
In the event of an unpaid cheque, make sure you recover the amount of your debt with a dedicated cheque collection service. All too often, the procedures for recovering what is owed to you are considered long and cumbersome, leading many structures to abandon the process before incurring too many costs. At SSPcollect, we support merchants in their efforts to limit default and penalize bad payers.
Even though the amount of a cheque may seem small, you have to take into account the time spent: processing the order, the invoice, cashing it, and the procedure for closing the file.
As the saying goes, “time is money”.   To find out more about our payment and collection solutions, contact our debt collection professionals today!