On Wednesday, April 28th, Square announced that businesses are now able to accept Automated Clearing House Payments (ACH) on Square invoices. Businesses and their customers can now benefit from the convenience and payment flexibility that this acceptance can bring. 

Square has addressed the needs of larger businesses who offer higher-ticket items in order to avoid the prohibitive fees incurred with credit card processing. In addition, during its beta test, Square discovered that 28% of larger businesses want the capability of handling a much larger volume of transactions as their sales grow. 

On the other hand, 25% simply want to lower their overhead. By using ACH payments, businesses can significantly reduce their operational costs, which leaves more for their bottom line. 

Square Invoices enables businesses to send digital invoices. This capability also allows merchants to track which invoices have been paid and which have not. It also accepts payments and sends reminders. In 2019, Square launched a Square Invoices app. 

The Benefits Of ACH Payments

ACH payments are an electronic bank payment method that offers customers yet another convenient way to make their payments. By offering this payment option, businesses are offering a way for customers to pay in a straightforward and secure way.

It is also ideal for delivering a safe and “contact-free” way of doing business. All that customers need to do is login in with their bank information and perform the bank transfer entirely online. 

Ashley Grech, Global Head of Sales, said:

“Large businesses need integrated, seamless tools that enable them to operate smarter and more efficiently, all while being able to save on expenses. ACH payments on Square Invoices allows us to compete for and better serve complex businesses like wholesalers, home and repair, and service providers that need lower transaction costs, while giving businesses another option in how they accept payments that ultimately brings huge benefits to them and their customers”.

Merchants that were surveyed reported that their key pain points were administrative duties such as billing and payment processing (24%). The great benefit about using ACH payments on Square Invoices is that it provides an integrated solution to simplify transactions by featuring all forms of payment methods under one platform. That way, a separate provider to handle ACH payments will be unnecessary. 

For businesses with recurring needs, merchants have the option of using Bank on File with ACH payments. How it works is that they can automatically bill a customer by acquiring and saving their bank information and billing them on a recurring basis. This will minimize missed or late payments, thereby restoring precious time back to merchants, by not having to chase late payments.

The Cost?

The Square Invoices feature is free for all Square sellers. ACH transactions have a processing fee of 1%. There will be no hidden fees for any failed ACH transactions. 

Looking Ahead

Square is on a mission to provide easy tools for people to take part and flourish in the current economy. By providing ACH payments, it hopes to continue to draw larger, more complex businesses like service providers, home-repair specialists, and wholesalers.  

Offering lower transaction costs and providing other efficient payment options are just more ways these businesses are sure to benefit.