68% of Businesses Increase ACH Payments Use, Dial Back Checks

Most chief financial officers (CFOs) in three key vertical markets say they are pursuing digitization of their accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) systems to benefit customers and suppliers.

That’s the reason for digitizing AR and AP workflows cited by 98% of the CFOs in industrial and manufacturing, 95% of those in real estate and 94% of those in wholesale trade, according to The Strategic Role Of The CFO, a PYMNTS and Versapay collaboration that surveyed 400 finance department leaders.

Get the report: The Strategic Role Of The CFO

Some other key reasons CFOs are pursuing digitization are to automate a manual process and to provide a more transparent process. More than half of the CFOs in each of those three key vertical markets say those are reasons they plan to digitize AR and AP functions.

The most visible sign of the gains of AR and AP digitization is the shift toward a greater use of electronic payments and a scaling back of the use of cash.

Automated clearing house (ACH) payments are one option being used more frequently because of digitization. Among the total sample, 68% of the CFOs said they are using ACH payments more frequently since the start of the pandemic.

Some of the other payment options that are being used more frequently because of digitization are credit cards, PayPal, wire, real-time payments and ePayables with virtual cards. More than half of the total sample said they were using these payment options more frequently because of digitization.

Conversely, three payment options top the list of those that are losing favor: cash (C.O.D.), prepaid card and check. When asked which payment options are used less frequently because of digitization, 78% of the total sample said cash (C.O.D.), 45% said prepaid card and 40% said check.