Sometimes it seems hard to believe, but checks are still alive and well in the world of finance. While the use of checks for many things (grocery shopping, clothes, fuel, and other personal expenses) has gone down, there are still some industries and some populations that prefer payment this way. If your business is one of them, you need to look into check verification services. Why?
Check verification services can be used to verify the financial history of an account holder and/or to validate the authenticity of a single check. The frequency with which your business accepts checks is the number one consideration for whether or not this type of service is right for you. Businesses can expand their customer base by accepting checks from customers that prefer to pay in this manner. Good times to use a check verification service include the following:
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Anytime your business accepts a check as payment for goods or services
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To verify new accounts or billing relationships
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To mitigate losses with high-risk payees
Using verification in these three scenarios allows your company to protect itself and protect its revenue stream. Bounced checks and denied payments create headaches and cost valuable time and money to track down. By front-loading this process, you can ensure that only reliable clients are onboarded, or that a high-margin payment will clear the first time through.
Be careful when looking at “free” online check verification services.
In reality, most “free” internet services are intended to increase website visitors and/or to cater to individual consumers rather than businesses. If you are a business that wants to engage with a legitimate check verification service, expect that it will not be free, that you will sign some kind of a service contract, and that you will be required to have a merchant account and possibly some hardware on premise.
Another thing to look for when searching out check verification services is FCRA compliance.
Check verification companies are considered credit reporting agencies and are therefore regulated by the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Typically, reputable companies will be party to trade organizations like ACA International: The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals. Members of ACA International are held to high ethical standards of conduct and reputable businesses must uphold them in order to maintain membership. This is a good indicator that you’re working with someone legitimate and who won’t get you into trouble by association.
At NSB, we pride ourselves on our ability to serve our clients in more ways than one. Although debt collection is our primary focus, our pre-collection efforts like check verification can improve your bottom line up front. Contact us today to see if we’re a good fit for your business!
