Despite recent rapid digitization efforts in the last two years, paper checks are still a primary payment method for businesses. While there are benefits to using paper checks, each business has its own reasons for continuing to issue or accept paper checks.
“The U.S. economy is vast and diverse, and while digitization has been a nearly universal pursuit for company finance leaders over the past year, it has played out differently in various sectors,” said Pymnts.com in a recent report. “This reflects the fact that every industry has had its own set of challenges and pain points.”
According to the report, almost 25% of business payments across industries are still made using paper checks. Let’s see which industries are using paper checks the most.
What percentage of payments are made with paper checks by industry:
- 34.1% Real Estate
- 28.2% Finance and Insurance
- 26.4% Industrial or Manufacturing
- 20.2% Technology
Automated Paper Check Fulfillment
Just because paper checks are still being used, doesn’t mean you can’t automate check payments. If you are in a position to implement new payments automation software, choose a provider that offers check fulfillment. Some AP automation vendors will offer check fulfillment services and will help with the distribution of invoices and checks to your suppliers and vendors.This allows you to have deeper automation into your accounts payable process.
Related: Understanding Invoice Processing Automation
Securing Paper Checks
Positive Pay is an automated system designed to stop fraudulent check payments from being processed and is offered by the cash management department of most banks. A business creates a pre-approved list of checks which the bank will be able to cross-reference to ensure only approved check payments are made. Learn More About Positive Pay
