Survey: 57% of Organizations Intend to Use Same-Day ACH for Last-Minute Bill Payments

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2016 AFP Electronic Payments Survey, underwritten by JP Morgan, found that a majority of organizations intend to use Same-Day ACH for last-minute bill payments while 38 percent anticipate they will use it for emergency payroll.

Despite new technologies designed to make payments faster, easier and more secure, the 2016 AFP Electronic Payments Survey found that business-to-business payments by paper check increased slightly from 2013, breaking the previous downward trend in check use. 

The majority of survey respondents are optimistic about the impact of faster payments on their organizations, and 94 percent consider it important that faster payments are "smart" and are able to carry extensive remittance information.  

To read the highlights and full report, go to www.AFPonline.org/epayments. If you are a member of the press and would like a copy of the survey or have any questions, please contact Melissa Rawak at [email protected].

The survey of 412 treasury and finance professionals did find that 70 percent believe it is "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that their organizations will convert the majority of their payments to electronic within the next three years.

"Treasury and finance professionals are indicating their support for Same-Day ACH because they see the value that it brings to last-minute payments," said Jim Kaitz, president and chief executive of AFP. "This should serve as a wake-up call for electronic payments vendors: How can you better serve and assist organizations to shift from checks to electronic payments?"

Other key findings in the AFP 2016 Electronic Payments Survey include:

• Overall, a typical organization receives 44 percent of its B2B payments by check, down from 50 percent three years ago.
• A majority of survey respondents (51 percent) consider cost savings a benefit of electronic payments.
• 86 percent have integrated their check payments systems with their accounting systems.
• More than a third of survey respondents are unfamiliar with the ISO20022 payments standard. 80 percent use cards to handle at least some employee pay, benefits or reimbursements.

"J.P. Morgan is once again pleased to sponsor the AFP Electronic Payments Survey," said Craig Vaream, North America Payables and Receivables Product Executive, J.P. Morgan.  "By leveraging the learnings from this study, organizations are better positioned to improve the efficiency of their treasury operations and more prepared to reap the benefits of payment innovations."

ABOUT AFP®

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) is the professional society that represents finance executives globally. AFP established and administers the Certified Treasury Professional and Certified Corporate FP&A Professional credentials, which set standards of excellence in finance. The quarterly AFP Corporate Cash Indicators serve as a bellwether of economic growth. The AFP Annual Conference is the largest networking event for corporate finance professionals in the world.

SOURCE Association for Financial Professionals

Related Links

http://www.AFPonline.org