Answers to the questions we frequently hear from interested businesses 

Q - Is there a minimum or maximum number of checks that Check Connection will  handle for us?

A - No. Check Connection can handle any volume of returned checks your store or company provides. Even the small companies will receive our full attention in recovering your checks.

Q - Is there a set-up charge?

A- No. We never charge any fee for setting up your business. There are no hidden costs.

Q - How much does your service cost?

A - We believe the burden of paying for our services should be paid for by the check writer - not the merchant. Our collection efforts are paid through the collection of both the returned check and the returned check fee. Simply stated, if we don't collect both we don't get paid. We retain the returned check fee and remit 100% face value of the collected check to the merchant. If we are only able to collect the check amount but not the service charge, you will still be paid the full face value of the check. In many cases we are also able to provide a rebate to the merchant from the collected service charge to offset their bank charges for the returned item. The rebate varies according to the check volume provided.

Q - Can you handle my out-of-town checks?

A - Check Connection can collect checks from virtually every bank in the United States. Your out-of-town or out-of-state checks are collected with the same efficiency as your local checks. 

Q - What is the cost of check verifications?

A - Check verification is free and uses a toll-free number so there is never a charge to your company. Verifications take just a few seconds, much faster than most credit card transactions. 

Q - What equipment is required for check verification?

A - Check Connection can usually use your existing credit card terminal to also perform check verifications. We program your Verifone Tranz terminal to coexist with your credit card application. The check verification will not interfere with your credit card sales, debit cards, EBT or any other applications on your terminal. We encourage the use of a Magtek check reader to quickly and accurately read the checks. We also use the IVI Check Manager 3000, which is a freestanding all-in-one unit that combines the terminal and the reader. Check Connection can provide this equipment to your business at the lowest possible prices, and can often provide refurbished units for a great savings.

Q - Can I use your service without having the verifications? Our fast food business doesn't have time to verify checks during our peak traffic times. All I want is collections.

A - Yes. Check verification is not required for us to do your collections.

Q - Can our company handle all correspondence with our corporate office instead of each individual store?

A - Yes, this actually simplifies the process. We can still provide reporting to your corporate office for any individual store, region or district. 

Q - My bank normally re-deposits my returned checks. Is this best for my business?

A- Automatic re-depositing of checks is a great idea for the banks, but it is a bad idea for your business. When a bank re-deposits the check, it bounces again the majority of the time. Your customer is charged another returned check fee from the bank, and your business is charged another deposited item return fee from your bank. These fees quickly add up, and now the customer may not have the money to pay for your checks for some time. Banks always pay their fees before they pay merchant's checks, so any deposits the customer makes are quickly gone. If the account has too many problems the bank will close the account, making further bank collections impossible.

An important point in reducing multiple losses from this same account is by quickly entering this account into the check verification system. Because the double-deposited check takes about a week longer to reach Check Connection, we can't enter it in to the check verification system until we receive it. This lets the same customer write several more checks to your business, probably none of which will clear. If these are frauds you probably won't recover any of them. If they were just honest mistakes your money will take much longer to be paid, because the customer had so many fees to pay.

You must also understand that when a check is re-deposited and fails, the bank often punches holes through the account number making it difficult or impossible to obtain the correct account number. Because the verification system is based on using the account number as part of the verification process, you may continue to accept many more checks from this same problem account until the correct account number is determined. This results in a needless and expensive loss to your company.

Checks presented to Check Connection after the first failed deposit have the entire account number intact, so the correct number is entered in to the verification system. This quickly prevents the check writer from writing additional checks to your store, because we start declining the check during verification when the information is very first available, just a few days after the check was written. This drastically reduces your losses and quite often alerts the customer to a problem they may not yet be aware of. They can stop writing checks, quickly deposit money in to their bank account and minimize their returned check expenses.

Checks received after the first deposit are allowed two attempts at electronic collection, up until the check is 180 days old. If the account remains open there is an excellent chance we will be able to collect your money, usually within thirty days. Re-deposited checks are only allowed one additional electronic re-presentment. This reduces your chances of recovery by 50%.

Also consider the rebate Check Connection offers to your business. Because single deposited checks are collected more efficiently, our average cost of handling each check is reduced. This means we can share a larger portion of the collected service charge with your company. Your rebate will be larger, you'll receive more rebates, and you'll also incur less deposited item return fees from your bank.

In summary, with single-deposit checks your collection chances are much greater, your customers as a whole have less bank charges and service charges, you greatly reduce frauds and multiple losses to your business, your bank costs are lower and you receive higher rebates.

Q - Is it legal to collect checks electronically?

A - Yes. National Automated Clearinghouse Association (NACHA) approved the new banking interim rules that allow a merchant or agent to re-present NSF checks electronically in 1998. The permanent rule became effective on September 15, 1999. Banks must accept the electronic transaction. The banks operate under the same rules that we do. We are both required to follow NACHA rules. 

Q - What type of notice is required to customers?

A - The customer must be notified at the point of sale that this process will be used to collect their check in the event it is returned unpaid, and to notify them of the returned check fee. Check Connection provides these stickers to post at each checkout lane. They must be displayed where they can easily be seen. 

Q- Will my customers like electronic check recovery?

A - Yes. Your customers will be pleased to have a convenient way to settle the problem without receiving collection telephone calls or letters.

Q- What checks are eligible for electronic check re-presentment (RCK)?

A - Personal checks returned as either insufficient funds (same as non-sufficient funds) or uncollected funds are eligible. They must be less than 180 days old, and be less than $2,500

Q - Which checks are ineligible?

A - The following items are not eligible:

Q - Is electronic check recovery more effective?

A - Yes. Recovery rates increase as much as 50%, resulting in an a very high recovery rate for NSF checks.

Q - When and how fast do I receive my money?

A - You can have your money in as little as ten days after we receive the check in our office. We must allow a few days for the electronic transaction to process.  Checks that do not clear the first re-presentment, or checks that must be collected through traditional collection methods usually take a little longer. However, you will always be paid within seven days of the date we receive payment.

Q - How soon can I begin using Check Connection?

A - After we receive and approve your enrollment forms, we will immediately send you the required stickers explaining the returned check charge and notification of recovery through electronic means. This process will take just a few days.

Q - We also have many checks that we couldn't collect on our own through in-house collections. Will you also collect these?

A - Certainly. Realize though that collection on these will not be as high as collection on new checks, but we will do our best to collect them and will be successful on many of them.

 Contact us at sales@checkconnection.biz for more information

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