Discover why you should invest in online EFT payments as a competitive alcohol distribution company.
For many alcohol retailers and distributors, online EFT (electronic fund transfer) payments are giving incumbent “cash and carry” processes a run for their money. Paper-based payments undermine efficiency across distribution channels, creating bottlenecks that are felt throughout your retailers’ supply chains. This gives retailers clear financial incentive to leave their existing distributors in favor of those offering easy and often instant EFT payments.
In this blog post we’ll outline four reasons why it’s in every distributor’s best interest to adopt online EFT payments.
By offering your retailers online EFT payments, they are able to settle invoices and send proof of payment for delivered goods as soon as they arrive. When you’re dealing with an extensive list of retailers around the country, having a clear view of all transactions in real-time is invaluable. An online payment platform also ensures that everyone is on the same page about when and where any given transaction took place. This effectively eliminates any chance of miscommunication, and guarantees transparency between all parties.
From the perspective of your alcohol retailers, it only makes sense to adopt a single, universal transaction method within their business. If they transact with customers predominantly using electronic payments, it can be a headache switching over to cash for their distributor. It can also create issues around keeping cash in-store or converting electronic funds to cash. This is far from efficient, and can be further complicated by risk of loss, theft, or damage to cash or checks.
Cash collections can also take time, leaving your drivers standing around getting paid for nothing. This is only complicated further when drivers and store managers miss one another, prompting repeat visits. When you’re running a large-scale alcohol distribution company, the cost of inefficient payment processes can escalate quickly—and put a serious dent in your bottom line.
Security is a common concern for any transaction conducted online or through a mobile device. However, online EFT payments don’t take place on a mobile or digital device itself—instead, it’s handed off through secure tokens to cloud platforms, and processing happens in a secure and monitored environment. This level of security is unmatched by any manual payment system, regardless of the manpower behind it. In fact, the human element is the greatest risk inherent in non-digitized payment systems.
Online EFT payments help distributors improve their margins by eliminating much of the overheads associated with checks and cash. This is an especially relevant benefit for B2B payments, which have seen a steady increase in interest rates and commission fees in recent years. For fast-moving distributors that transact in large volumes, card payments can quickly amass large sums of fees that undercut revenue targets.
The truth about cash and check payments is that they simply don’t meet the needs of modern-day businesses. As digital solutions mature and overtake their manual predecessors, both retailers and distributors have no choice but to bring their processes up to speed.
Online EFT payments—whether through an eCommerce website or mobile app—are making old payment systems obsolete and giving businesses a competitive edge. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you bring your payment systems into the 21st century.
Download our ebook and learn how you can simplify your payment processes and stay compliant with an automated B2B payment solution.
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