Page 20 - Nov-Dec 2022 Reporter

updates in

payment

processes

and Second Thoughts

on Surcharging

EFT/Cheque Payment Platform
Our affinity partner, Baseline Payments, recently launched an
online EFT/electronic cheque platform that is helping Canadian
businesses move away from paper cheques and offer a better
payment experience to their customers.

Why is this exciting?
Because, in many cases, you’re getting paid very slowly.
You pester your customers, who tell you “The cheque is in the
mail.” And good luck with the reconciliation, spending hours
matching payments with invoices. You can now add a payment
link directly on the invoice, enabling your clients to pay you
faster with a much-preferred method of payment - a superb-
looking “e-cheque” site - and clear up lots of headaches for the
accounting team.
Customers can log in to the payment portal and pay online
any amount via bank transfer. Payments then show up with the
invoice number on your bank feed, making reconciliation easy
and efficient.
You stay informed about the status of the payment every
step of the way through automated notification emails and real-

time payment tracking. go through specific processes outlined by about 1 percent of their nearly 2,000 clients
The payments landscape has been Visa and MasterCard, both of which require have asked about surcharging, and fewer
constantly evolving since Covid started, as a 30-day notice to the acquiring processors - than half of those are seriously considering
companies are eager to tackle pain points financial institutions that process credit card it. After all, if you’re in a competitive business,
around the unpredictability of AR and AP. The payments - and to the credit card companies. passing along that 1.4 - 2.4 percent fee to
Baseline consulting team can address those Merchants are also required to clearly disclose your customers might just drive them to
pains by providing solutions that will enable the surcharge to customers at the entrance that business down the street that won’t
you to focus on what you do best (which of their stores, on every receipt, invoice, and surcharge. Your customers are using a credit
might not be the finance stuff.) at the point of sale for online, in-person, and card and you’re being paid immediately;
over-the-phone transactions. what’s that worth to you?
Surcharging From a practical perspective, surcharging Baseline, a consulting firm that has
So, you accept credit cards but hate paying may be months away. provided accounts receivable and payable
the fees. The news last month that you can You can see there are various moving advice to merchants across Canada for more
surcharge your customers came as welcome parts. And the processors are still working on than a decade, understands the pain points
news, right? Passing along these fees is the adjustments needed to bring this service around payment acceptance and has a variety
brilliant, right? to Canada in order to comply with card brand of solutions and approaches that can help
Not so fast. Our affinity partner, Baseline rules. For example, altering physical terminals merchants save money and, perhaps even
Payments, reports that the payment industry so they will show a surcharge on every more importantly, time. Stefano and his team
doesn’t quite have its act together on making transaction. will be reaching out to you. Feel free to drop
this an easy process. In the meantime, think carefully about him a note at stefano@baselinepayments.
On the level, it seems straightforward: whether you want to even go this route. com or call 778-926-1805.
Merchants who intend to surcharge must Baseline’s Stefano Corradini tells us that only

20 LBMAO Reporter - November-December 2022 www.lbmao.on.ca