Paying bills online is becoming increasingly popular — it’s convenient and simple for both billing organizations and their customers. In fact, according to an InvoiceCloud survey, 43% of consumers say it’s their preferred payment method. So, with digital payment options being heavily adopted, why would organizations consider accepting cash payments?

What is CheckFreePay?

InvoiceCloud works with Fiserv to bring its users CheckFreePay, which enables your customers to pay their bills in cash at retail stores like most Kroger and Walmart locations, and more. Your customer simply gives their bill to a customer service representative at one of these stores and then pays in cash. Behind the scenes, the payment will process digitally, and the data is passed on to InvoiceCloud, where it’s matched against the customer’s invoice. Your organization will then get the benefit of reviewing and reporting on these transactions in the Online Bank Direct section of the InvoiceCloud biller portal.

Why should your organization offer CheckFreePay?

In previous blogs, we’ve talked about the importance of customer experience and how today’s consumers expect the option to pay whenever they want, however they want, and using the channel of their choice. Providing customers with the option to walk into a retail location and pay their bill with cash adds flexibility and convenience to the customer experience, while improving overall collections efficiencies for your organization.

This is especially critical for those living in lower-income households, where devices with access to the internet like tablets, laptops, desktops, and smartphones are not always accessible. According to a recent survey by Pew Research, 13% of households making less than $30,000 a year do not have access to any of these devices or broadband services. For families who are already struggling to keep up with bill payments, this lack of access to digital devices adds even more stress. Additionally, lack of digital access can also equate to forgotten or missed payments, since reminder emails, texts, and other digital communication isn’t possible.

Providing customers with a way to pay their bills on-the-go with cash can balance out this inequity, encourage more frequently on-time payments, and more importantly, provide a thoughtful customer experience.

While it’s evident that CheckFreePay can be enormously beneficial for customers, there are a number of benefits for billing organizations, like:

• Digitized cash payments for accelerated collections with easy-to-export reports
• Improved customer satisfaction by making paying easier
• Increased payment flexibility for unbanked or underbanked customers
• Improved collections efficiencies by increasing on-time payments
• Reduced foot traffic in the office
• A PCI Level 1 Compliant secure method for cash payments

Learn more about CheckFreePay

While the digital age is upon us, it’s still important – and in many areas, a legal requirement – for billing organizations to accept cash payments to accommodate the needs of all customers.

For those with little access to digital devices, it can be increasingly difficult to pay bills – which is especially pressing for essential services like utilities or important bills like taxes and insurance payments. This inability to make payments become understandably stressful for not only the customer, but for your organization as well. That’s why InvoiceCloud supports CheckFreePay, to provide billers and payers with a simple, convenient, and stress-free way to make and receive payments.

To learn more about CheckFreePay, download our free product sheet now.