As from February 2009 the Plimus platform accepts and processes e-Checks (Electronic Checks) from customers based in the USA.

Why e-Checks?

e-Checks are an increasingly popular form of secure online payment. Mirroring the functionality of paper checks, e-Checks are drawn directly from a customer’s bank account. More and more customers are looking for this option when purchasing online.

• Many businesses customers prefer ordering by e-Checks particularly for bulk orders.
• They are especially suitable for higher-priced orders as purchasers prefer not to eat up their credit limit
• A growing number of purchases wish to avoid incurring credit finance charges.
• Customers appreciate the choice of being able to pay straight from their checking account.

How e-Checks Work

Customers provide their account and routing information.
e-Check validation is virtually immediate, while final clearance can take up to 2-3 working days through the Automatic Clearing House network (ACH).

As online customers are expecting immediate download, access to digital downloads and/or serial keys is given straight after the purchasers information is validated against a register of blacklisted accounts.

To facilitate this functionality the current Sellers’ contract defaults are set to automatically accept e-Check payment from buyers from the USA. Your customers from the USA will therefore see e-Checks as another one of the various payment methods they can select to purchase your products.

As usage grows, e-Checks should prove beneficial for all sellers as processing charges are often lower than on credit cards.

Potential Problems

e-Checks are generally deemed to be as secure as online credit card payments. There are some differences.

• Transactions might fail for a number of reasons, e.g., Insufficient funds, unknown account, incorrect account details, and fraudulent transaction.
• Rejection by the purchaser’s bank invokes a chargeback fee from the bank, even if this was totally caused by the purchaser.
• There is a risk that fraudulent customers may take advantage of the fact that product delivery takes place before e-Checks are finally cleared.

If for some reason you do not want to accept sales using e-Checks then you can simply notify our Vendor Support team to amend your payment settings.

Recommendations

e-Checks can benefit your business bringing transactions that might not have been closed by other methods.

Plimus’ experience is that overall chargeback ratios do not significantly differ from other payment methods.

We suggest that you check if you are getting an unusual number of chargebacks from e-Checks. Some products are more likely to attract chargeback issues than others.

If you believe that your overall chargeback ratio from e-Checks is higher than other payment methods then it makes sense to ask Vendor Support to suspend e-Checks as a payment method for 2 months and then reassess the situation.