Informed Merchants DO Choose Checks!
With the advent of Check 21 and the increase in the prevalence of electronic payments, are checks still a preferred payment method for the merchant? Should you still accept checks?
The answer is a definitive “yes”!
Compare the cost of accepting credit cards to accepting checks:
The answer is a definitive “yes”!
Compare the cost of accepting credit cards to accepting checks:
Credit Cards
The average cost (including statement & transaction fees) of credit cards for a restaurant is 2.25% - a convenience store averages over 3%.
Checks
What percentage of checks bounce? 1.7%. (Less than 2% of checks written at point of sale will bounce. Less than 1% of all checks bounce, including those written for mortgages, utilities, etc.) If you don’t collect a single check, you’re close to the expense of card processing. If a mere 50% of those are collected, the cost for a merchant to take a check is 1% - less than half the cost to take a credit card! (Most of our grocery accounts have less than 1% bounce when using verification.)
The difference? Perception. With card processing, a typical merchant sees the cost of acceptance. With a bounced check? You see theft. Reality: 98+% of checks clear with no cost.
When looking at the bottom line, which payment method is preferred?
The difference? Perception. With card processing, a typical merchant sees the cost of acceptance. With a bounced check? You see theft. Reality: 98+% of checks clear with no cost.
When looking at the bottom line, which payment method is preferred?
