Nacha's Council for Electronic Billing and Payment has published a white paper outlining a framework for businesses to evaluate the comparative benefits of specific electronic payment mechanisms.
The paper is the second in a series produced by the Council's business-to-business task force on electronic invoice presentment and payment (EIPP). It outlines the features of B2B electronic payment methods - automated clearing house (ACH), alternative electronic networks (MasterCard RPPS, Visa ePay), and credit card - as well as traditional payments (cheque and wire transfer). For each payment method, the paper presents an overview, process flows for buyer- and seller-initiated payments, functional differentiators, and an economic analysis.
The first paper, issued in January 2001, analyses the three models of electronic invoice presentment that are emerging in the market - buyer direct, seller direct, and consolidator.
Jane Wallace, acting chair of the Council and CEO of the consumer and payments division at Princeton eCom, comments: "The Council for Electronic Billing and Payment believes that widescale adoption and product innovation will occur only when the executives in the B2B space have a broader understanding of electronic invoice presentment processes and related payment options."
Both papers are available on the Council's Web site at http://cebp.nacha.org/publicdocs/publicdocs.html