ACH and check verification specialists

VeriCheck Inc. was founded in 1989 as a check verification and collections enterprise. VeriCheck President and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Hannah, who purchased the company from Tom Nort in Atlanta six years later, said it's sometimes hard to recognize the business he took over because of the technological advances the company has made. However, he said the principle of top-notch service has always been and remains at the company's core.

"You will always find our staff fully engaged in a giving, helpful and cordial customer care experience," Hannah said. "We work until there is full resolution of any question or issue that an ISO or MLS [merchant level salesperson] brings to us."

During its 20-plus years in business, VeriCheck has seen the full evolution of automated clearing house (ACH) transactions. "Today we offer solutions that were mere dreams when we first imagined what this industry could become," Hannah said, adding that he, VeriCheck Chief Financial Officer Rebecca DeVane and the company's dedicated staff have remade the company many times over in the last two decades.

Rising ACH stats

The ACH system, which processes electronic credit and debit transfers for institutions nationwide, is a rapidly growing processing alternative. According to NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association, the number of ACH transactions processed exceeded 18 billion in 2009.

Hannah said that offering ACH capabilities contributes to a company's bottom line, and businesses that don't use ACH processing and paper check conversion risk being cut off from new markets. Also, in the United States, many individuals do not possess credit cards or simply prefer to pay via checking or savings accounts.

In December 2010, the Federal Reserve released a study focused on noncash payment trends in the United States from 2006 through 2009. The report showed emerging trends in noncash payment activity across the country, with electronic payments increasing from nearly two-thirds of all noncash payments to more than three-fourths of those payments. Excluding credit cards and checks, usage of all other noncash payment forms has been increasing steadily.

During the reporting period, electronic payment growth expanded annually at a rate of approximately 9.3 percent; total annual transaction volume for electronic payments exceeded 84.5 billion in 2009, representing a dollar value of over $40.7 trillion, the Fed noted. Of the 84.5 billion electronic transactions, ACH volume made up 19.1 billion, coming in third after debit and credit cards, respectively. ACH dollar volume, however, represented $37.2 trillion of the $40.7 trillion electronic payments total.

Multiple ACH options

Beginning in 2001, VeriCheck enhanced its system to include its current ACH processing. Today, the company offers the following types of ACH transactions:

• Website originated (WEB)
• Personal account debit (PPD)
• Business account debit (CCD)
• Telephone originated (TEL)
• Point of sale, cash register (POP)
• Back office conversion (BOC)
• Accounts receivable (ARC)
• Returned check item (RCK)

By specializing exclusively in check processing, VeriCheck can complement any ongoing credit card relationship an ISO might have, according to Hannah. The company's reseller packages are tailored to an organization's specific situation and provide end-to-end ACH processing that does not involve third parties.

VeriCheck reported that with multiple program options for check-present and check-not-present transactions, the company offers scalable ACH and check solutions that can be adopted by all types and sizes of businesses. Its system enables businesses to take payments from customers using customers' personal or corporate checking or savings accounts. Merchants can accept payments from customers over the phone, through a website, by fax, online invoice or in person. The company also offers remote deposit capture (RDC) and Check 21 services for ISOs and MLSs whose merchants want to deposit checks remotely.

The primacy of ISOs and MLSs

VeriCheck services are offered primarily through a network of ISOs and MLSs who partner with the company. "We currently work with many of the leading ISOs across the nation, and we are always looking for partner organizations who can benefit from a direct relationship with our end-to-end ACH processing solutions," Hannah said.

He believes in building good working relationships that help ISOs meet their merchant customers' changing needs. He stressed that when an ISO or MLS calls the VeriCheck office, the individual will talk to a live person who understands the client's issues - often the same person the ISO or MLS has dealt with previously.

VeriCheck believes its resellers can fulfill all their check solution needs using VeriCheck's in-house processing. In addition, resellers enjoy a range of check verification tools and resources, check guarantee programs for qualified merchants and a nonsufficient funds recovery program. They can also take advantage of real-time tracking and monitoring of all transactions, as well as reporting by merchant or by portfolio.

With VeriCheck as the processing source, buy-rate markups are effectively eliminated, and VeriCheck's full suite of ACH and Check 21 solutions can integrate into any application programming interface (API) or gateway that an ISO or MLS is using, VeriCheck noted.

In addition, ISOs and MLSs working with VeriCheck can provide every type of checking solution under their own umbrella of services, maintain ownership of the accounts they enroll, make use of competitive pricing programs and enjoy reliable payment of residuals.

"VeriCheck resellers can also benefit from our ongoing relationships with our partner organizations who provide value-added products and services," Hannah said. "We can offer these products and services to your organization at our exclusive discounts, adding additional revenue streams to your business."

Essential customer satisfaction

According to eMerchant Solutions, VeriCheck is its primary provider of ACH and check processing services. A company representative said the relationship has been long standing and mutually beneficial. And when it comes to merchant support and communications, eMerchant Solutions believes VeriCheck "is the best."

VeriCheck prides itself on giving its reselling partners absolute control over the merchants they board, as well as on providing the exact level of interaction its partners individually desire. VeriCheck affirmed that it never gets between resellers and the prices they assess on merchants; it leaves such pricing decisions to the ISOs and MLSs.

The company's entire merchant boarding process and all transaction processing are done in-house. This includes all risk assessment, billing, support, programming and training. Providing all of these services in-house, gives VeriCheck the ability to react quickly to meet the needs of merchants and reselling partners, the company noted.

"When a merchant boards with us, there is no extra price for this service or that service," said Zac Ebrams, VeriCheck's Director of Marketing and Sales. "We include, free of charge, all ancillary services that most other providers charge extra for." Ebrams further pointed out that merchants have access to all features of VeriCheck's fully secure and compliant merchant console, which includes:

• Feature rich reporting capability
• Recurring and scheduled payment ability
• Virtual terminal access
• Predesigned payment forms
• Customer databases
• Accounting software integration tools
• Ability to add products and services to consoles
• Capability to grant up to 50 users access to a processing account

"VeriCheck has been one of our primary providers of ACH services for over five years," said Randy Almond, Senior Director of Marketing at PaySimple. "As a reliable and valued partner, we've worked closely with them to offer the ACH services that our merchants are looking for. Their powerful self-service management tool enables us to easily track merchant activity and resolve issues."

Ever expanding horizons

VeriCheck is pursuing new opportunities in 2011. For example, as the preferred ACH and check processing provider of its gateway partner, USAePay, VeriCheck feels ISOs and MLSs should be able to offer check processing and ACH services to nontraditional and hard-to-place merchants who are already processing credit cards on the gateway.

To that end, it has begun beta testing on a recently completed integration that will enable it to provide such processing to nontraditional merchants who come directly to VeriCheck or through one of its channel partners.

VeriCheck is also putting the finishing touches on an integrated solution that will allow its customers to use ocular character recognition technology for check scanning. "This will be an ACH and Check 21 product that has the potential to streamline operations for tens of thousands of merchants across the country, and we are very excited about its upcoming launch," Ebrams said. for all leading mobile platforms

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