Three Benefits of EFT Payments for Alcohol

Retailers and distributors have one primary need in common: they must have the ability to make and receive payments for alcohol beverage products. In today’s competitive Direct Store Delivery (DSD) environment, distributors and retailers are always looking for that “something extra” to improve and streamline these processes.

This is where EFT payments come in. As a bonus, the benefits of EFT payments go beyond improving efficiency; they also reduce operating costs and provide security assurances during every step of the process. 

What is EFT? 

Electronic funds transfer (or EFT) works as a direct deposit, when money is moved digitally from one bank account to another, eliminating the need to physically carry cash, checks, or money orders. Instead, all transactions occur online. It is fast, secure, and provides the efficient solution that retailers and distributors are looking for.  

EFT Payments for Retailers and Distributors

Most large retailers, and virtually all alcohol beverage distributors, are already using Electronic Funds Transfers to improve their business.

Retailers

Many larger retailers use EFT to pay their distributors for their alcohol deliveries. However, many smaller, independent retailers (on and off-premise), haven’t taken advantage of this technology yet. EFT is available for retailers of all sizes, not just large ones, and saves retailers time and money with streamlined processes. 

Distributors

There are many advantages to using EFT for distributors. By eliminating manual steps involved with alcohol payments, one of the greatest benefits of EFT payments is how much time it saves during deliveries. Distributors get paid securely and on time while easily being able to track all the involved paperwork electronically. 

Three Main Benefits of EFT Payments

While there are many advantages to switching to EFT, the top three immediate benefits for retailers and distributors can be summed up in three words: convenience, compliance and security.

1. Convenience

The biggest convenience when using EFT payments is the time you will save. Without physical payments, delivery time is reduced by an average of 15 minutes per delivery. You don’t have to wait for payment via check, cash or money order. 

EFT payments for alcohol beverage product deliveries are faster and distributors can spend more time merchandising their products to help the retailer sell more. As a result, this allows retailers more time to assist their customers. It also means both parties are saved from manual errors. That’s less time spent correcting mistakes and more time spent where it’s needed. Overall, using EFT is so convenient to use, you’ll notice the time-saving benefits immediately. 

2. Compliance

Keeping up with federal and state regulations can be a headache. EFT processors exist to make your life easier, and that includes staying compliant with regulations. For example, iControl’s Alcohol Payments solution is compliant in all 50 states, which means that 100% of payments are made in accordance with State, Federal, and Local regulations. With that comes peace of mind for retailers and distributors: a streamlined process that will be compliant with regulations no matter the location. 

3. Security

With the use of EFT, retailers don’t need to keep large sums of cash in store anymore to make their alcohol payments. Meanwhile, distributor delivery personnel no longer have to carry around cash, checks or money orders. By eliminating the need for physical money, both parties will feel safer doing their job. 

As a part of the EFT process, invoices also go through a set of validations and verifications so all parties can be assured that payment processing isf secure. This also means that the end of the workday just got a little better when it comes to reconciling deliveries and payments for the distributor’s AR department.

What is Alcohol Payments and what can it do for you?

Over the last 8 years, iControl has offered an Alcohol Payments solution. Alcohol Payments is an easy way for retailers to pay their distributors for all their alcohol beverage products. It offers all the benefits of EFT payments along with the following key advantages:

• Fully secure with end-to-end encryption
• Compliant in all 50 states with all payments made in accordance to federal, state and local regulations
• No need to carry physical cash, checks or money orders
• Save delivery time for distributors and retailers
• Eliminates errors associated with manual payment entry

To learn more about Alcohol Payments, you can explore our solution here or request a custom demo to learn how our platform can be tailored to your business.