Cheque Elimination and Card First Enablement
Reduce Costs and Turn Your Accounts Payable Department into a Profit Centre
According to Electronic Payments Survey, 80% of larger organizations are expected to make the move from paper cheques to other electronic payment forms. As organizations are faced with fewer resources at their disposal in an effort to reduce costs to remain profitable, they shy away from launching an internal campaign of conversion due to limited accounts payable resource, system limitations and the lack of supplier participation.
Cambridge Mercantile’s Automated Payables Solutions (APS) is an electronic enablement platform that affords companies the flexibility of remitting payment to vendors through either a highly secure virtual card or EFT payment. A card-first approach will allow you the largest possible reduction in payment processing costs while presenting the potential for receiving monthly rebate payments.
At Cambridge, behind the APS technology is a resource team that is dedicated and committed to delivering 75% of vendors converted in 90 days. The APS team will handle the process of vendor conversion from A to Z – including launching the marketing campaign, providing a secure website for suppliers to activate their payment profile to maintaining these profiles. We take care of the “heavy lifting,” for your organization to enable you to turn your AP department into a profit center and focus on driving success for your business.
Download the APS Brochure (coming soon!)
Benefits of APS
→ Cheque elimination maximized
→ Revenue share paid on card payments
→ Cheque cost eliminated
→ Cheque fraud eliminated
→ Vendors get email payment notifications
→ Vendors get remittance details in their preferred format, delivered through their preferred delivery channel
→ Complete payment history available to suppliers online
Frequently Asked Questions
1) What’s the advantage of converting from cheques to electronic payments?
There are many advantages of converting from cheques to electronic payments, such as:
→ Cost Savings
→ Card Rebates
→ Improved Funds Utilization
→ More Efficient Reconciliation
→ Stronger Fraud Controls
→ Improved Vendor Relations
The direction of the payments industry is changing, as 80% of larger organizations are expected to convert to electronic payments over the next 3 years. Converting from cheque to electronic payments will keep your business ahead of the curve and allow you to streamline your operations.
2) How much money will I actually save?
There is no exact number, as it depends on a number of variables. However, if a company were to transition 600 cheques to electronic payments, the net benefit would be approximately $80,000.00 per year.
3) What is the process to convert my paper to paperless system?
Undergoing the process of cheque elimination is a multi-step, comprehensive procedure. During this process, there will be a Cambridge analyst working with you step by step. Cambridge will do all the “heavy lifting” to help make the transition as smooth and efficient as possible.
4) I have a lot of cheques to convert, is adopting cheque elimination going to be difficult and lengthy?
Not at all, the only delays in the conversion process are barriers to adoption. These are roadblocks that prevent your business from making this conversion efficiently. Barriers include: cost, lack of supplier participation, remittance requirements, limitations to your financial system, and limitations to your IT and AP resources. With APS we help you eliminate these barriers and can guarantee the conversion of at least 75 % of cheques to electronic payments within 90 days of starting your contract.
5) Are there any challenges my suppliers would face when our company makes the transition?
With our easy to use profile manager, the process to conversion for suppliers is simple. An e-mail invitation is sent to the supplier recipient with a link directing them to a profile registration page, which is set up by an e-mail confirmation code. Once the supplier’s profile with their banking information has been submitted and authorized, you will receive a notification. You will then have access to this information for your accounts payable.
6) How does your new product differ from other electronic payment solutions in the market?
Given that most conversion programs take at least 18 months to complete, our APS program not only implements conversion smoothly, but also makes it an efficient process. In addition APS provides cost savings, card rebates, improved funds utilization, improved vendor relations, and stronger fraud controls.
7) How does the single-use virtual card work?
For vendors that have agreed to accept card payments from you, APS will generate single-use virtual card numbers with credit limits equal to your approved payment amounts, and then send payment notifications by email. Once your vendors, obtain their virtual card numbers, they can process their payment using a physical or virtual card terminal.
8) How does the card rebate work?
When electronic payments are converted into a card first program, your company gets money back by participating in a revenue share. This can potentially transform your accounts payable department into a profit center.
9) What may be the biggest obstacle in implementing such a project?
The largest obstacle in implementing such a project is a lack of supplier participation. Most organizations that decide to move their suppliers to electronic payments independently achieve less than 25% of conversion and require 18 months to fully implement. On the contrary, APS guarantees a 75% conversion rate in just 90 days, which shows that a properly designed electronic payment enablement program, with supporting technology, will not encounter much supplier resistance.
10) What happens if the supplier refuses to accept a card?
This is why APS employs the Card First Program. For Vendors that have refused to accept card payments from you, but have agreed to accept EFT payments, the APS program will generate EFT payments and send payment notifications by email. Your vendors receive an EFT credit directly to their bank account.
11) Won’t I lose float or shorten my DPO by moving to electronic payments?
Electronic payments will actually improve your cash forecasting. Converting to electronic payments means you know exactly when payments need to be initiated to take full advantage of discounts and exactly when payments will clear, allowing you to hold onto funds longer and make better investing and borrowing decisions. The functionality provided by electronic payment solutions, that allow buyers to control settlement with specific payment dates and makes cheque float a moot point.