Why Your Hotel or Venue Customers Prefer ACH Payments

When it comes to making payments, customers appreciate flexibility so they can pay you however best suits their needs and preferences. In turn, this often means getting paid faster and possibly even at a lower cost.

In addition to card payments, more and more businesses are starting to accept bank payments. If you’re already accepting those by sending out wiring instructions, you should still consider ACH to better meet your customers’ varying expectations. These methods are different enough ACH may be preferred.

Why would a customer prefer an ACH payment over a another type of transfer?

Greater Convenience

ACH allows your customer to pay via bank in a way that’s just as convenient as a card payment – and bonus: ACH is much cheaper for you to process than cards due to lower fees. ACH payments also require minimal information your customer would already know off-hand, such as their account and routing numbers. Plus, using an online solution like Sertifi allows you to set up payment schedules with automated reminders. This means your customers don’t have to keep track of your schedule or remember to pay you, ultimately ensuring you get paid in a timely manner.

Reusable and Reversible

Your event payments start as estimates. By securely capturing and storing a customer’s bank information via ACH, you’re able to have it on file to charge for future, final payments. In case your estimate was too high, you’re able to refund the ACH transfer, which is harder to do with other methods.

Increased Security and Compliance

ACH payments are submitted securely and via encryption, which is not available when you’re sending wire instructions to customers and asking them to submit their payment information via email. ACH payments are also governed by regulatory frameworks, such as NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association) rules, which reassure customers that their information and payments are being handled with the utmost care.

Ultimately, these benefits extend to you as the merchant.

If your customer sees their preferred payment method as an option, they’re going to take it and pay you faster. Even better, if they prefer ACH, you’re going to process what would’ve been a card payment as an ACH payment. This is your best-case scenario, as ACH payments cost much less for merchants to process than card payments. Check out this blog post to learn more.