How To Accept ACH Payments On Your Small Business Website

There are several steps for accepting ACH payments on your small business website. Once you have started accepting electronic credit card payments and debit options, you need to know how to accept ACH payments. Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment processing services allow your business to accept electronic check payments. As a financial professional, you can provide more flexible payment options and maximize your small business revenue by authorizing these transactions. Read on to discover how to accept ACH payments on your small business website.

Determine Feasibility

To accept ACH payments on your small business website, you first need to determine your feasibility. Unlike cash, card, or check payments, ACH payment processing comes with certain limitations. For instance, ACH payments only work within the United States. Thus, if a large portion of your transactions are conducted internationally, ACH payments might not be for your company. In addition, consider the types of transactions your business typically accepts. If you handle a lot of paper checks or credit cards, you could convert these to ACH payments to lower your processing fees. Before setting up your ACH payment method, it is imperative to determine your feasibility.

Choose An ACH Payment Processor

Once you have determined ACH payments are feasible to your small business, you need to choose an ACH payment processor. There are many companies who can help you start accepting ACH payments. For example, merchant, bank, and credit card providers may be able to add ACH payments to your existing service package. Importantly, ACH fees are typically separate from your current processing fees. In particular, look into chargeback and non-sufficient funds fees (NSF) across providers to see if you have to pay extra for charges over a certain amount. It is essential to choose an ACH payment processor to facilitate your payment setup.

Set Up A Merchant Account

Next, set up a merchant account so your business’s bank can interact with the ACH network. Even if you already have a merchant account for credit card sales, you need to set up a separate account for ACH payments. One guideline to setup your merchant processing account is to choose a provider affiliated with the ACH network. In addition, you need to provide your certificate of incorporation along with documents identifying your company owners and directors. This specialized merchant account will allow you to accept echeck payments on your website.

Integrate ACH Payment Gateway

In addition, you need to integrate your ACH payment gateway. For your website transactions, your merchant account provider should be able to set you up with this transaction tool. Ideally, your gateway includes an online form for collecting ACH payment information. It’s important to integrate a gateway with reliable security to protect your customers’ sensitive financial information. Your secure web form needs to include customer name, bank name, account type, account number, and routing number so you can authorize the payment. It is imperative to integrate your ACH payment gateway to your website.

Select The Right Entry Class

Furthermore, you need to select the right entry class before you can process your ACH payments. For instance, with a WEB ACH transaction, the payer gives permission over the Internet to have funds electronically debited. Specific and clear authorization language must be used in the permission process for this type of transaction. If you process a payment in the wrong entry class, the payment processor likely will not side with your company in a dispute. Therefore, you need to select the proper entry class when processing ACH payments.

There are several essential steps to accept and use business ACH payments on your website. First, you need to determine your feasibility based on your customer base and transaction methods. Next, choose an ACH payment processor. In addition, you need to set up a merchant account affiliated with the Automated Clearing House network. Then, integrate your ACH payment gateway on your website with an online form. Furthermore, be sure to select the right entry class to avoid issues in a dispute. Follow these steps to accept ACH payments on your small business website.