PJ Gupta, Founder It is a no-brainer that the world we live in today is defined by digitization. From purchasing products to unlocking the doors to our houses without even being present at the premise, everything can be done with a simple touch, tap, click, gesture or voice command. However, amid all the digitally driven products and services we require on a daily basis, there remains one “old school” method which should have been rendered obsolete a long time ago but is predominant in our lives—paper checks. Ever been in a situation where you had to write a check but suddenly realized that you’re out of leaflets and had to order another booklet just for that one payment? It’s funny because the aforementioned issue is just the tip of the iceberg. Not only do checks take a long time to process but they are inefficient and very costly. It is odd how the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industries, being early adopters of digitization, haven’t upgraded from using paper checks. In essence, there is no alternative available in the market. Until now! “Our company, vision, and product can be summarized in one simple line—Getting rid of paper checks forever,” says PJ Gupta, the founder of Checkbook. He continues, “Digital Checks is not only our flagship offering but is also what the payment industry needs today at this very point.”
The manual overhead associated with sending out, processing and receiving checks is cumbersome. With just a dollar per transaction or even less with bulk discounts, businesses can finally move away from the process of stuffing, stamping and manually keeping track of checks. Checkbook changes everything! It is a far simpler, easier and more secure payment solution that enables enterprises and individuals to send and receive payments via “Digital Checks.”
Our company, vision, and product can be summarized in one simple line—Getting rid of paper checks forever
With a few clicks, they can initiate sending digital checks in seconds through the checkbook.io interface. Companies need not even have to install a dedicated app or software for sending checks. Checkbook lets businesses move away from paper to deliver Digital Checks directly to a recipients email allowing them to keep all their existing accounts payable and accounts receivable processes at one place. Checkbook also offers REST APIs for easily integrating their services into existing AP solutions— with a single line of code.
Recipients of digital checks receive an email with an image of their check, which they can instantly deposit online or print if they choose to. Companies can send large numbers of checks easily simply by uploading a CSV file. Checkbook.io’s API is scalable enough that they have done more than a million Checks in a single day. Checkbook is also integrated with Quickbooks where users can add their app at the Intuit Marketplace. “We take care of the rest with instant bank account verification for on-the-spot deposit,” adds Gupta. With Checkbook’s integrated accounting dashboard, enterprises can follow every digital check through every point of the process, from delivery and deposit to posting.
In a nutshell, Checkbook’s Digital Check technology is an end-to-end, simplified payments solution that combines both cost-savings and convenience. For the recipient there is no enrollment, no app to download thus keeping the simplicity and functionality of paper checks with the efficiency of online payments. Interestingly, Checkbook can be leveraged by individuals as well. The company’s unique value proposition has not gone unnoticed in the enterprise sphere. Within a short time since its inception, Checkbooks has already has millions users with thousands of business customers. To further innovate its novel stack, Checkbooks is using blockchain and is expected to make an announcement about it soon. In Q1, 2019 the company plans to announce Instant Payments i.e. cash the Check instantly. The money will be in the recipient’s bank account within 30 seconds on average.
This announcement builds on Visa and Checkbook’s incremental collaboration with Checkbook having participated in the Visa FastTrack program in 2021 and their Virtual Card program enabled by Visa. The latest collaboration, this time involving Checkbook’s implementation of Visa Direct, further strengthens the relationship and expands the solutions Checkbook is offering to businesses looking to disburse fast and seamless payments to individuals and other businesses.
“Our goal at Checkbook has always been to offer our customers a comprehensive suite of modern payment options with a single API,” says PJ Gupta, CEO and Founder of Checkbook. “By offering real-time1 payments through Visa Direct, we are enhancing our customers’ ability to send and receive fast payments seamlessly.”
“In today’s ‘always on’ world, businesses and consumers demand quick and convenient access to cash flow – whether paying insurance claims, disbursing wages, tips or rebates – speed and efficiency have become the name of the game,” said Yanilsa Gonzalez-Ore, North America Head, Visa Direct. “We’re proud to collaborate with companies like Checkbook that are helping to streamline global money movement and disburse funds quickly and securely with Visa Direct.”
Fast payments optimize the way businesses send money to their customers and to each other. Examples include paying insurance claims, vendors and contractors, wages, tips and rebates amongst others. However, most organizations encounter unexpected complications and overhead in facilitating these payments. With Checkbook’s payments platform, creating and sending real-time payments directly to customers’ bank accounts through eligible cards is done via one simple API call. Checkbook also offers a broad feature set that helps make managing the payments lifecycle painless. Businesses can track payment status and monitor account activity from their dashboard or via Checkbook’s robust API. All these pieces contribute to the success of Checkbook’s product – a payment infrastructure tailored to meet customers’ payment needs when and how they need it.
Visa Direct provides a single point of access and reach to 8.5B+ endpoints, helping transform global money movement by facilitating the delivery of funds to 3B+ eligible cards, 3B+ bank accounts and 2.5B+ wallets2 around the world. In Visa’s FY23 alone, Visa Direct surpassed 7.5 billion transactions. Checkbook customers are part of that, which helps save them time and resources.