Checkbook Expands Payment Operations Amid Shift From Paper Checks

Payments solution provider Checkbook has expanded its payment operations.

The company announced this expansion in a Thursday (Aug. 22) news release, saying it marked a milestone in “streamlining check and payment operations for a variety of business use cases in the U.S.”

According to the release, Checkbook has seen a surge in interest from industries like the rental, legal, government and banking sectors, spotlighting a rising demand for efficient and streamlined payment operations.

“Despite the availability of numerous digital payment offerings, billions of checks are sent every year due to challenges with adoption of more modern alternatives,” the release said.

“Checkbook’s enhanced check capabilities aim to bridge the gap between traditional and modern payment technologies, effectively onboarding customers at any stage of their digital transformation process.”

As PYMNTS wrote earlier this week, checks are still a staple of the B2B world, despite the rise of digital payment solutions.

“B2B payments haven’t evolved much from the modalities that dominated the landscape 40 or even 50 years ago,” Boost Payment Solutions Chief Operating Officer Illya Shell told PYMNTS.

But checks need time to be mailed, received and processed, a delay that can cause cash flow challenges, particularly for businesses operating with thin margins, and especially given that the manual processing of checks involves labor, paper, postage and bank fees.

By contrast, digital payments can be processed in hours or even minutes, lowering the time it takes for suppliers to receive money and letting buyers better manage cash flow.

“Our clients care about driving business results and analytics around understanding the value and transparency of every transaction. They want more automation, as much as possible, and they want no fraud,” Ernest Rolfson, founder and CEO of Finexio, told PYMNTS.

“We are laser focused on destroying the check, eliminating fraud risk and delivering more cards,” added Rolfson, pointing out that “there are so many businesses now that are just still learning about virtual cards. It is the fastest growing payment method.”

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows that more than 80% of executives say they’ve lost business because of a payment process miscommunication. More than half say it’s happened more than once.

“The amount of paper that is still passed around in the B2B space continues to stun me, and it’s somewhat by choice, but more and more, I think businesses are looking for a better way,” Shawn Cunningham, managing vice president and head of Capital One Trade Credit, told PYMNTS in 2023.

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