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Accepting Payments via Bank Transfer (ACH)
Accepting Payments via Bank Transfer (ACH)

Bank transfers are an easy, cost effective alternative to credit card payments.

James Dixon avatar
Written by James Dixon
Updated over a week ago

⚠️ Please review the following requirements ⚠️

Accepting payments via bank transfer (ACH) is easy for both you and your clients!

But first, there are a handful of requirements before you can accept payments via bank transfer, so take a moment to review and make sure you qualify:

Requirements

All set? Let's go 🚀


🏦 How do I enable payment via bank transfer?

  1. Once enabled, check the "Enable ACH payments" box.



💰 How much does it cost to accept payment via bank transfer?

There is a flat fee of $3.99 per transaction for bank transfers. This is a significant savings over our already low credit card rates.


⌛ How long does it take to receive my funds?

Unlike credit cards, bank transfers are a delayed payment method, meaning they do not settle instantly.

  • While you'll see your payout within 2 BUSINESS DAYS, it takes up to 4 BUSINESS DAYS for the payment to finish processing.

  • The cutoff time for payments made via bank transfer is 2:00 pm ET. This means that any payments made AFTER that time will be submitted for processing the NEXT BUSINESS DAY.

  • Depending on when a client submits their payment, it could be anywhere from 2 to 5 days before you receive payment in your account due to weekends and holidays.


🎛️ What options do I have when accepting bank transfers as a payment method?

  • Mark inspections as paid only when ACH payments settle

    • It's crucial to note that bank transfers have the potential to encounter failures at any stage within their processing period, which normally takes 4 BUSINESS DAYS. This option keeps your reports locked until the payment has settled successfully and ensures that you've received your payment before your clients and agents can see their reports.

    • If this setting is enabled and you would like to allow your client to see their report before their payment has been finalized, you can unlock their report.


  • Send me a reminder when the bank transfer payment is available in my account

    • You can be notified via email when a bank transfer is successful. After the payment has been submitted, enable the "Send me a reminder when the bank transfer payment is available in my account" option in the Internal box of the Inspection Details page.


👀 What does this look like to my client?

When paying for an inspection, your clients will see a "Pay via Bank Transfer" option.


After clicking the "Pay via Bank Transfer" option, your clients will be presented with a window to connect directly to their bank to verify their account and pay for the service. Spectora uses Plaid to securely connect to your customer's bank to initiate the transfer.


↩️ How do I refund a bank transfer?

To refund a payment made via bank transfer, you'll follow the same steps as you would for a credit card payment. However, because a bank transfer payment takes multiple days to process, you'll need to wait until the payment settles before issuing the refund.


🤔 What happens if a client disputes a payment made via bank transfer?

Disputes on ACH payments are fundamentally different than those on credit card payments. If a customer’s bank accepts the request to return the funds for a disputed charge, the funds are immediately removed from your account. Please be aware that there is an associated fee that will be charged to your account for a failed ACH payment. More details here.

Unlike credit card disputes, you can’t contest ACH reversals. You must contact your customer to resolve the situation. The ACH network allows 60 days for consumers to contest a debit. Business accounts only have 2 business days, but because there is no way to be sure if the account is a business or personal account, don’t rely on this as a way to reduce risk.


Frequently Asked Questions

  • My client said the bank transfer option (Plaid) is asking them to log in with their bank account username and password. Is this correct?

    • Yes! ACH payments (bank transfers) are direct bank-to-bank transactions, so Plaid will ask your client to log into their bank account with their username and password. This information is not stored in Plaid or Spectora!

  • I've already received the money for the bank transfer, but it won't let me issue a refund. What's going on?

    • While you'll see your payout within 2 BUSINESS DAYS, it takes up to 4 BUSINESS DAYS for the payment to finish processing. The refund option won't be available until after the payment is fully processed.

  • I want to offer ACH payments to my clients, but I don't want to pass on the credit card fees. Is this possible?

    • Unfortunately not! The ACH payment option is only available when the "pass on credit card fees" setting is enabled.


If you have any questions or feedback, write into our chat bubble or email support@spectora.com!

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