Electronic Payment Solutions (EPP)

1. What are electronic payments, and how are they benefiting Collection attorneys today?

Electronic payments flow through three basic channels.  Credit/Debit Cards, Checking/Savings Account Payments and Wire Transfers.  By moving these basic transactions electronically, EPP accelerates funds to the Collection Firm, reduces the need for manual payment posting and ensures that returned items (NSF’s) are re-presented quickly and efficiently for funding.  The products EPP offers that facilitate the acceptance of these payments include:

Website Payments Telephone Payments Online (virtual) Debt Negotiation Business and Personal Check Conversion (ARC & Check 21) Automated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Payments NSF Check Re-presentment (RCK)

2. How have electronic payments affected Business to Business and Consumer to Business receivables and collections over the last 10 years?

The overwhelming effect electronic payments have had on the billing and receivables landscape can be summarized in two basic results, convenience and efficiency.  Consumers want to choose their payment channels and method of payments as well as have control over frequency and timing.  Billers and collectors demand faster payment notification, expedited access to funds and efficiency gains through automation.  A comprehensive Electronic Payments Suite meets all of those fundamental needs.

3. How have online payment solutions such as smart web negotiation and recurring billing (payment plans) shaped the payment process?  What has been the adoption process?

Online payment solutions have drastically shaped consumer preferences and have far outpaced traditional remittance channels not only in terms of convenience but also in exposure.  For many consumers a website is their first stop in the remittance process, whether driven by technology preferences or electronic billing, customers often view paper or telephone transactions as a last resort.

As far as the adoption of more advanced web solutions such as virtual debt negotiation, those products are still in their infancy.  However, these types of next generation solutions are seeing promise among early adapters and continue to prove themselves as a successful and economical alternative to traditional collection methods.

4. What types of companies/agencies are employing electronic payment acceptance and methods?

At this point Electronic payment acceptance through multiple payment channels and types have become the standard.  Companies who don’t offer these solutions to debtors are at a severe competitive and operational disadvantage to their competitors who have systems in place to handle electronic payments.  The challenge has really become the handling of the electronic data and maximizing automation of the process.  Payment posting is still a large hurdle that is not easily overcome by many systems currently in place.

5. What should I expect in terms of a return on investment?

Electronic payment systems were designed to streamline the billing and receivables process by making funds available more quickly, managing returns more effectively and eliminating manual entry.  If implemented incorrectly they can do just the opposite.  EPP works with your business along with your business software provider to ensure a proper implementation.  Users see anywhere from a 20 – 70% gain in efficiency along with a 15 – 40% increase in number of payments received.  EPP services are inexpensive to implement and have low transaction rates along with reduced return fees.  Click Here to begin taking more payments with no set-up fees.

6. How has technology impacted the way payments arrive and are applied?

Technology has provided the speed, now it’s up to the payment provider to offer the efficiency.  There are a large number of companies out there providing the means to process a transaction, however many processors aren’t doing the legwork to ensure that once the transaction is funded, it can be applied automatically within accounts receivable or collection packages.  Without that crucial step we term integration, electronic payments can be as cumbersome, if not more, than traditional payment processing.

7. What role does integration play in payment acceptance?

Integration spells ease for end users as well as corporations as a whole.  The more seamless the transition to electronic payments is, the shorter the adoption cycle which means less training, fewer management headaches and ultimately a more homogenous environment.  On the end user side if the press of a button takes a payment and upon approval the funds are automatically applied to the account, well, it doesn’t get much easier.

8. What integration methods are, in your opinion the most effective?  Which do you support?

An integration that allows real-time data flow and payment approvals is always the preferred method.  For us this means establishing a data flow utilizing a S.O.A.P API.  With this secure data connection in place business software can communicate with our Electronic Check (ACH) and Credit Card gateways providing real time transactions. This also allows payments that are received through peripheral payment channels such as web payments or scanned check payments to be posted back into the A/R system with no manual entry.

9. What are your current software/telephony alliances?

EPP currently works with over twenty-five different software and solution providers.  These range from accounts receivable to collections, messaging and dialer applications to letter vendors and virtual debt negotiation platforms.  For a complete listing of our current alliances please click here.

10. What type of product offerings should you look for in a payment processor?

There are two basic components that ensure success when working with a payments vendor.  Make sure the solutions are comprehensive and also easy to use. EPP provides Electronic Check (ACH) and Credit Card processing through its easy-to-use, web-enabled gateways.  We also offer a complete suite of payment products, such as IVR, Web Payments, ARC, and Check 21 check Conversion, as well as RCK check re-presentment.  This complete package means that EPP can serve as a total solution provider for end users in order to avoid multiple vendor relationships.  Furthermore, because EPP processes a high volume of transactions as a result of this comprehensive product line, customers can take advantage of our aggressive pricing structure.

11. What role does ease of use play in selecting a payment processor?

Billers require one, simple-to-use interface that allows them to meet customer demand without crippling their businesses with payment postings and tracking challenges.  If solutions are tightly integrated into accounts receivable and actually eliminate steps instead of adding them, adoption will be much more seamless.  The EPP integrated-payment solutions were designed specifically for this purpose.

12. What should end users and software/telephony alliances look for in terms of reporting functionality?

Comprehensive reporting is always high up on the requirements list, and rightly so.  The ability to query payment data on variables such as approvals, declines or payments by source is paramount in an A/R department. By utilizing canned or even custom reporting, businesses can mine payment data on any level they see fit.  The EPP gateway offers comprehensive reporting functions to assist you in managing transaction data from the system. 

13. What should I look for in a payment processor in terms of security and compliance?

EPP’s commitment to security is of the highest level. It is important to utilize the latest in encryption and security tools to ensure that your merchants and customers payment data is secure.  Make sure you are dealing with a processor who holds the correct credentials:

SAS 70 Compliancy HIPPA Compliancy 1024-bit SSL encryption SDP Compliancy PDC Data Compliancy CISP Compliancy Fraud Stopper Employees hold AAP NACHA Designation

14. How do you differentiate yourselves from your competitors?

Through integration to your collection package, EPP solutions pave the way for a paperless billing and receivables system, while giving end users back precious time to focus on their business. The EPP product line serves to simplify the cumbersome process of receiving and applying payments through our integrated approach which enhances accounting, collections and billing software with payment acceptance functionality.

Regardless of how you receive non-cash payments today, chances are you deal with two basic payment types, Credit Cards and Checks. EPP provides access to those two basic gateways through its Express Payments Suite, which provides every available option for accepting payment. EPP is a TOTAL solution provider. 

Click Here to see how EPP and the Express Payments Suite can work for you.