Any chance of offering an alternative payment method instead of cheques

[muddys-blues]

Dear @Pete Harvey, your items are excellent, but is there any chance you can offer another method of payment instead of cheques please ? 
 

Surely Bank Transfer must be an option in these times now please Pete ? 
 

Beat regards

Craig 

Edited September 17, 2022 by muddys-blues
Title reworded

[YesTor]

Do people still own cheque books?  😬

[pete_mcfarlane]

49 minutes ago, YesTor said:

Do people still own cheque books?  😬

Yes, for paying for Model Railway stuff from people who don't do online payments....

[BR traction instructor]

I remember cheques.

 

BeRTIe

[fulton]

Yes still cheques about, was surprised my car tax refund and later tax refund were both by cheque, first visit to my bank in years, new to me, cheques can be paid into the cash machine, which reads them. I'm easily impressed.

[muddys-blues]

Just a note, some banking apps allow you to use your phone to photograph a cheque, and then it will be processed through your account.

 

So you may not have to go into a bank branch after all.

 

Craig 

[chris p bacon]

I've posted this before, but having just completed a renewal process for a line society there are a lot of people who are either unable to use card/internet banking or it isn't available to them so cheques are the only viable option.

[YesTor]

3 hours ago, chris p bacon said:

I've posted this before, but having just completed a renewal process for a line society there are a lot of people who are either unable to use card/internet banking or it isn't available to them so cheques are the only viable option.

 

That could potentially be the case for some senders, however the question was with regard to a supplier receiving payments.   As such, any private individual or organization in possession of a bank account can receive payment via bank transfer - all that is needed are the sort code and account number, both of which are standard with all bank accounts and have been since the beginning of time. 

 

In fact, even a sender with no online access or debit card can send a payment via bank transfer, all you need to do is telephone your bank and quote the recipient's sort code, account number and the amount that you wish to send and that's it, no need to mess around with cheques at all.

 

Best

Al

[YesTor]

18 hours ago, fulton said:

Yes still cheques about, was surprised my car tax refund and later tax refund were both by cheque, first visit to my bank in years, new to me, cheques can be paid into the cash machine, which reads them. I'm easily impressed.

 

Yes, same here and there's a method in the apparent madness of this:

 

Firstly, the funds do not leave the sender's account until the cheque is processed, so there will be a delay in those funds leaving the sender's account. 

 

Secondly, some of those cheques simply won't be processed at all, as people have the potential to lose or forget to bank cheques, particularly if they are of lesser amounts.  Also, cheques expire, so again if not processed in time will likely not be honoured - that is certainly the case with DVLA for sure, from experience. 

 

Either way, all of these additional 'hurdles' for the recipient add up to funds remaining in the sender's account.  Imagine even a small percentage of unprocessed car tax refunds each year and it soon mounts up in DVLA's coughers... 

 

🤔

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by YesTor

[Michael Hodgson]

8 hours ago, YesTor said:

As such, any private individual or organization in possession of a bank account can receive payment via bank transfer - all that is needed are the sort code and account number, both of which are standard with all bank accounts and have been since the beginning of time. 

 

 

Nearly  - but following criticisms of the banks for blindly accepting payment instructions to fraudsters who have supplied the customer with their own account numbers whilst purporting to be a genuine reason for payment, the banks are generally now also asking for the name of the account holder, and checking with the receiving bank that the account name and number correspond.

 

Account numbers and sort codes do not go back to the beginning of time - those came in when banking was computerised.  In the days of hand-written ledgers, your account was identified by your name.  Ledgers were arranged kept in alphabetical order, and we still use the expression "account in the name of ...".    I understand Coutts & Co continued to keep their records manually after the others, before allocating account number 1 to their most prestigious customer, whose funeral is about to take place today.

[Michael Hodgson]

8 hours ago, YesTor said:

 

Also, cheques expire, so again if not processed in time will likely not be honoured - that is certainly the case with DVLA for sure, from experience. 

 

When I was examining cheques presented to the bank for payment, we would dishonour ("bounce") cheques over 6 months old, writing  "Out of Date" in red in on the top right hand corner as the reason for dishonour.  Technically however the cheque was still valid and didn't get you out of a debt that you hadn't paid.  You could still sue the drawer of a stale cheque using it as documentary evidence of debt until the Statute of Limitations kicks in after 6 years.  Every year for the first couple of weeks of January we would turn a blind eye to cheques which had inadvertently been written using last year's date.

 

If you have a cheque which has been returned "Out of Date", ask for a replacement.  The DVLA will issue one (probably only up to 6 years old though).

 

[Poor Old Bruce]

On 18/09/2022 at 02:11, YesTor said:

Do people still own cheque books?  😬

 

YES!!

 

9 hours ago, YesTor said:

In fact, even a sender with no online access or debit card can send a payment via bank transfer, all you need to do is telephone your bank and quote the recipient's sort code, account number and the amount that you wish to send and that's it, no need to mess around with cheques at all.

 

Last time I did that was to send a payment from my building society. Because I didn't have a currnent account with them, just a savings account, they charged me £20 for the privilege 🥵

[YesTor]

13 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Nearly  - but following criticisms of the banks for blindly accepting payment instructions to fraudsters who have supplied the customer with their own account numbers whilst purporting to be a genuine reason for payment, the banks are generally now also asking for the name of the account holder, and checking with the receiving bank that the account name and number correspond.

 

Fair point, but to return to the OP's original question none of this is a reason for anyone not to accept payment via bank transfer.  Okay, call the bank with the sort code, account number, amount and the person/company's name and make the payment.  Job done.  Companies make their payment information available all of the time pretty much at the bottom of every invoice or household bill, it really isn't classified information.  🙈

[Wheatley]

I presume that if Mr Harvey doesn't accept bank transfer then there is a good reason for that, despite it being  technically possible. Until he rocks up here and answers we're all just guessing. 

 

 

[Paul Cram]

The reason most small businesses don't accept bank transfer is because of the time taken to reconcile the payment with the order.  Much easier if the payment and the order arrive together.

[Jonboy]

Working for a wholesaler the number of trade customers who cannot follow a simple instruction to add an order number, invoice number or account number to a bacs payment is astonishing…the number of payments we try to reconcile that have come from “current account 2” or “Lloyds” etc without any trace of a recognisable customers name is bizarre…

 

Not sure I would want it at a retailer level.

[Pete Harvey]

Sorry for not getting back sooner been tied up with family stuff.

 

I do offer alternatives to Cheques and they are Postal Order or Cash.

 

I did look at alternatives when I started in 2009 but chose not to go that way as the increase in product cost would of doubled the final cost to the customer and I dread to think of what it would be now.

 

It's just me doing this none else no team just me.

 

I have always tried to offer value for money and keep the end price low, I don't make a lot on every sale and the last few years have been very hard and it still is so I'm not going to incur any other costs that are not necessary to keep going.

 

I have no plans to change the accepted methods of for my products sorry for those who don't like it but that's how it is.

 

I don't have to do this if I stop and go I'm not the one who loosing out in the end.

 

Pete

[Neal Ball]

On 21/09/2022 at 14:09, Pete Harvey said:

Sorry for not getting back sooner been tied up with family stuff.

 

I do offer alternatives to Cheques and they are Postal Order or Cash.

 

I did look at alternatives when I started in 2009 but chose not to go that way as the increase in product cost would of doubled the final cost to the customer and I dread to think of what it would be now.

 

It's just me doing this none else no team just me.

 

I have always tried to offer value for money and keep the end price low, I don't make a lot on every sale and the last few years have been very hard and it still is so I'm not going to incur any other costs that are not necessary to keep going.

 

I have no plans to change the accepted methods of for my products sorry for those who don't like it but that's how it is.

 

I don't have to do this if I stop and go I'm not the one who loosing out in the end.

 

Pete

Can I suggest you join your local chamber of commerce. They will have advisors who can help you get round these sort of cost issues.

 

Sadly by accepting only the methods of payment you show above means you are missing out on so much business.

 

As a small supplier it must be very hard these days, but cheques, postal orders or cash, none are feasible for Mail order. I couldn’t place an order as I live in Spain, we don’t get issued with cheques….

 

Good luck with your business.

[blueeighties]

On 21/09/2022 at 13:09, Pete Harvey said:

 

 

I do offer alternatives to Cheques and they are Postal Order or Cash.

 

 

🤨

How on earth would offering bank transfer as a method of payment increase your product costs? It's free, simple, convenient for the customer, and a major benefit to business.

Edited October 11, 2022 by blueeighties
Typo

[mozzer models]

4 hours ago, blueeighties said:

How on earth would offering bank transfer as a method of payment increase your product costs? It's free, simple, convenient for the customer, and a major benefit to business.

if its a Business Account its not Free

[JSModels]

7 hours ago, mozzer models said:

if its a Business Account its not Free

 

For many business accounts, automated payments are free. Even for those that do charge, automated payments are considerably cheaper than paying in either cheques or cash.

 

But if you run your own business, it's entirely up to you how you accept payment. In this case however I note that the business owner stated that he last looked at alternative payments back in 2009. Things have changed an awful lot since then!

 

Jonathan

JSModels 

[blueeighties]

On 12/10/2022 at 01:03, mozzer models said:

if its a Business Account its not Free

My business account is free.

[chris p bacon]

1 hour ago, blueeighties said:

My business account is free.

Who is it with ?

 

I'm yet to find a business account that doesn't charge

[blueeighties]

3 hours ago, chris p bacon said:

Who is it with ?

 

I'm yet to find a business account that doesn't charge

Starling.

[BernardTPM]

Do they accept cheques and Postal Orders though? 😈

(Playing Devil's advocate)

Edited October 23, 2022 by BernardTPM