CrossCheck Blog

As a business owner in today’s COVID-19 business space, deciding the best ways to accept payments in 2021 is a critical decision that has prompted a few questions. Are your current payment options safe and convenient for customers? As businesses open back up, are customers returning to their old payment habits or moving on to new ones? Forcing customers to change is never a good idea, but giving them options is always a great idea. Do customers want to pay right now or pay with terms? Is the option they are looking for cash, check, debit, credit, or even bitcoin? Searching for the right solution with all the variables experienced in 2020 can be daunting for any business, no matter the size. Furthermore, there was a shift to contactless payments in 2021 and those changes are here to stay. When looking at payment options and solutions, finding the right combination is key.

Here at CrossCheck, we have been “all eyes and ears” in recent years over news about electric cars because our primary customer base is new car dealerships. Since we maintain an active dialogue with dealerships, we are well aware that CrossCheck and dealerships are fielding a lot questions about how we see the future of electric vehicles (EVs). Consequently, we thought it would be helpful to share a few opinions about how EVs will unfold over the next few years. First, we pay close attention to the developments in this space, which is obviously critical to our business. Second, we want to “think like a customer” – our dealer merchants – and the dealers want to think like their customers – the car-buying consumers.

The September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York’s financial district changed the nation in many ways. The emotional scars still linger, the rebuilding of physical structures continues today, and Congress reformed the way the banking industry handles check processing. During the second half of the 20th Century, paper checks were flown between US depository financial institutions on a nightly basis. That approach reached crisis on 9/11. For security reasons, all non-military aircraft were grounded for two days following the hijackings and check processing was temporarily halted in conjunction with air travel. In 2003, Congress passed the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21) to abate future disruptions, opening the door for banks and other institutions to process checks electronically. The law enables recipients of paper checks to create scanned digital versions, eliminating the need to handle paper checks. When Check 21 took effect October 2004, a function known as remote deposit capture (RDC) was introduced to facilitate the acceptance of those scanned images as deposits.

Americans write a check to pay for one out of every five purchases of $100 or more, and over the course of the recession, the value of an average check ballooned to $1,420.50 while one in five people said they increased their use of checks. Why are checks gaining traction now, right in the midst of a revolution in digital payments? First, because a handwritten check is an exceedingly secure form of payment, and second, because checks have the highest rating for bookkeeping accuracy, an aspect of check-writing that appeals to fiscally conservative consumers whose ranks grew dramatically during the recession.

People are exposed to nearly 20,000 ad messages per week ranging from TV commercials, radio ads, billboards, cell phone application ads, pop-ups, and website banners. Talk about sensory overload on steroids! As a home furnishings merchant yourself, you may even be contributing to this statistic in one form or another with a catchy jingle or special promotion. But there’s no shame in that, you have to generate brand awareness and market your own promotions.

Last year you saw a 34% increase in “door swings” as more people finally began to find the funds to enjoy motorsports, and it looks like you’re on track for another good year in 2014. While still not back to the pre-crisis boom times, store owners who find every possible source of margin have earned higher profits.

Banks offer “remote deposit capture” (RDC) services with their merchant accounts so merchants can deposit checks without going to the bank. But sometimes merchants assume that their bank’s RDC service includes features that it doesn’t, and often when they are needed the most.

Car enthusiasts have been anticipating a hydrogen-powered car for a decade, and environmentalists have been hoping for an entirely hydrogen-powered energy infrastructure for twice as long. Why? Because hydrogen is incredibly abundant and using it produces only one byproduct: water.

Remote Deposit Capture (RDC): What is it, how does it work, how will it benefit my business, and what else do I need to know? What is Remote Deposit Capture? Introduced in 2004 as part of the Check 21 Act, RDC is the efficient process of depositing a check into a bank account from a remote location without having to physically deliver the check to the bank.

As cities are built to reach higher, the air gets hazier with a layer of smog. It’s harder to see, harder to breathe, harder for plants and animals to thrive. Fuel emissions from cars, trucks, bulldozers, tractors and other heavy equipment add to these unhealthy conditions daily.