It’s Time to Update Your Payment Process

The sale is not final until the check clears the bank.

Getting paid for the insurance policies you sell is a key part of running a successful agency. How agencies have handled the payment process hasn’t changed all that much over the years—send an agency invoice, receive a check in the mail, and deposit it into the bank. Direct Bill transferred some of the burden of collecting money to the insurance company, but also transferred some of their loyalty from you to the company.

Today’s consumers are demanding more payment options than ever before. Moreover, it is these changing expectations of your clients that require you to begin to think differently about how you get paid for the policies you sell. I have a friend in Dallas who owns a business and charges over $20,000 of business expenses a month on a credit card to earn the points.

According to the latest New York Federal Reserve study on non-cash payments, the use of paper checks has gone from 37.3% of transactions in 2003 to 18.3% in 2012 (the latest year available). The use of debit cards has increased from 15.6% in 2003 to 47% in 2012.

Do you accept credit or debit cards in your office?

Mobile payment options will continue this trend away from paper checks to electronic payments. PayPal, Square—the little white dongle you add to your phone or tablet to swipe a credit card—Amazon payments, and just last week Apple announced Apple Pay—a mobile payment option for the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Your agency needs to begin the process of creating a way for your clients to pay you using whatever payment method they want. Setting up electronic payments is a complex issue. There are many moving parts.

The industry needs to address and find a way to accept electronic payments as soon as possible.

To help you understand the complex issues that the industry—agencies and insurance companies—need to address to set up electronic payment options, I have created a white paper titled “It’s Time to Update Your Payment Process.” This white paper will help you gain a better understanding of the payment industry as well as the opportunities we have to accept electronic payments.

You can download a PDF copy of the paper by clicking on this link: It’s Time to Update Your Payment Process

Consumers are demanding. They want what they want, and they will find a way to get it. Many of your clients no longer even use checks. Agencies of every size need to begin strategizing on the process they will use to be able to accept electronic payments for insurance policies.

Consumers are demanding it.

How are you meeting the changing demand of payment methods? Let me know what you think.