Take the Paper Out of Taking Checks	By Les Stuckey

	More of This Feature
	Part 1: Take the Paper Out of Taking Checks Part 2: Cost Savings & How Check Conversion Works
	Related Links
	Electronic Transactions Inc. Electronic Check Council Electronic Funds Transfer

But, what about taking checks? Many merchants have transferred that "too costly - too risky" mindset to accepting checks. What with all the bank fees, NSF (insufficient funds) charges, collection hassles as well as the time to prepare and batch deposits, it's no wonder.

Technology may offer retailers the best of both worlds and in the process reduce the cost of taking checks by up to 30 percent and eliminate the handling of paper completely. Electronic Check Conversion, the process of converting a check at the point-of-sale to an electronic transaction, provides merchants with a safe, quick and cost effective payment option, with all the conveniences of a check.

Americans love their checkbooks

The Federal Reserve estimates that 75 percent of all non-cash consumer transactions in the United States are made by check. In addition, over 70 million American consumers either:

• Don't have a major credit card,
• Have reached their credit limits, or
• Prefer not to use credit cards.

In the U.S., check writing rose from 60 billion in 1999 to over 70 billion in 2000. A survey commissioned by The Green Sheet, Inc., a Petaluma, CA firm that monitors check writing and point-of-sale trends and technologies, found that 71 percent of consumers expect their check writing to increase or remain the same over the next year. In America, checks are clearly here to stay.

What about the Risk?

Many merchants choose not to accept checks because of the risk of bounced checks and fraud. However, when you factor in the Federal Reserve's estimated increase in check writing, not accepting checks becomes a huge lost opportunity.

Pioneered by NACHA - the National Automated Clearing House Association - electronic check conversion has all the familiarity of check writing at the point of sale for consumers, without the associated risks and headaches for retailers. Consumer acceptance of the process is high and growing higher, and businesses uniformly agree it improves their ability to accept checks while reducing costs and the risks of fraud. The technology also offers quicker checkouts and quicker funds settlement.