Still collecting cheques or cash? You have more efficient options

Collect payments safely and easily with Interac e-Transfer® for Business. You can collect up to $25,000 directly to your business account by just using an email address, mobile phone number or Canadian bank account. Register for Autodeposit to skip the security question and have funds automatically deposited into your business account.

This feature is available with CIBC Online Banking. If your business account is multi-signatory, you can use CIBC SmartBanking™ for Business. Interac e-Transfer costs $1.50 per outgoing transaction, but receiving e-transfers is free for most CIBC Business Operating Accounts. While account transaction fees may apply for your customer, you save processing time. You can expect payment in real time, often within an hour of the e-transfer being sent.

Bottom line: Why wait for the cheque in the mail? Interac e-Transfer for Business is an easy, fast, and inexpensive way to collect payments up to $25,000 within Canada.

Collect funds directly from your customer’s bank account into your own in Canada with an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or pre-authorized payment. This service is available on CIBC SmartBanking for Business. To collect payments from your customers, you’ll need to get an agreement to debit their account, and include the date the payment is due in your account.

Pre-authorized payments are an efficient way to collect CAD or USD accounts receivables with a higher maximum amount per payment than Interac e-Transfer. They also allow for recurring and bulk payments. This makes it a great option for collecting payments from customers who have a monthly subscription or frequently order goods from you.

With Electronic Funds Transfer, you’ll be sure to receive your money on time without worrying about due dates and missed payments. The cost for ad-hoc is $2 per payment. For bulk payments, there is a $39 monthly maintenance fee per originator number, a $12 per file import fee and $0.14 per transaction fee. The only cost for your customer will be any account activity fees they may incur, but these fees are likely less than sending a cheque by mail or courier.

It’s important to note that when using pre-authorized payments for bulk payments, you need to apply for a credit facility called a Payment Product Settlement Limit (PPSL). This is the amount of funds you can collect from your group of customers on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

With pre-authorized payments you can future-date payments up to 100 days in advance and track payments with a unique reference number. There may be additional costs to use this service, so be sure to ask your business advisor for the price list.

Bottom line: Save the costs and potential delays associated with receiving cheques and payments through regular mail. If you’re looking to collect payments of more than $25,000 or one-time, recurring or bulk payments within Canada, pre-authorized payments will suit your needs best.

An Automated Clearing House (ACH) acts the same way as an EFT, but for payments from the U.S. ACH lets you collect funds directly from your customer’s bank account in the U.S. to your U.S dollar business account with CIBC, using CIBC SmartBanking for Business. You can receive payments in USD only. The cost is $10 per payment and there is a one-time connection fee of $350. Your customers don’t pay anything to send payments, except for any account activity fees they may incur.

With ACH, you can future-date payments up to 100 days in advance, set up recurring and bulk payments, track payments with a unique reference number, and cancel a payment at a cost of $25.

Bottom line: If you have customers in the U.S., you can use ACH as an option to replace cheques.

Wire payments let you receive money anywhere in the world, in any major currency. All you have to do is give your customer your banking information. Your customer sends the payment through their bank. Your cost to receive payments is $15 per transaction, but wire payments offer the ability to receive larger payments.

Bottom line: If you want to receive larger payments worldwide, wire payments are the best option.

As discussed, there are many ways in which you can collect payments digitally to ensure your business can run more efficiently. Check out some resources on how CIBC can help you to upgrade the way you receive payments and manage your cash flow: 

• Want to ditch cheques? Learn how by reading Still writing cheques? Check out other payment options
• Need additional cash management tips? Check out how to make your cash flow more efficient