The rising cost of inflation and skyrocketing interest rates are putting both home inspectors and homebuyers in a bind. In a slowed down market, home inspectors are eager to ensure inspections are completed and paid for. However, homebuyers are hesitant to spend more money than they need to. Offering homebuyers multiple payment options is the best way to tackle this problem, allowing them to choose what makes sense for them and their lifestyle.
In the past, we had been very much against charging your customers a surcharge or “convienience fee” for using their credit cards. Customers and agents hated it and it just wasn’t worth upsetting them to save a few dollars. However, with our introduction of integrated ACH processing, our thoughts have completely changed on the subject.
Now available in ISN through Guardian Inspection Payments is integrated ACH processing. When you give your customers a free viable electronic payment option that is just as simple as paying with a credit card, they don’t get upset when you add a surcharge for paying with a credit card. When they go to check out, they will see both the option to pay with a credit card (with verbiage stating the surcharge amount…which, by the way, is completely controlled by you) and the option to pay with ACH.
ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments are a form of electronic funds transfer that enables money to be moved from one bank account to another.
Our solution is fully integrated within ISN, making it entirely seamless for you and your customer. With other third-party options, customers have to leave ISN to pay with an e-check, forcing them to re-enter the dollar amount of the transaction, their name, email address, invoice number, and all their checking account information. With our integrated option, they only need to enter their account number and routing number, and the process is complete. ISN will automatically mark the inspection as paid and release the report, just like a credit card transaction. This eliminates any manual report releasing you would have to do with a third-party option. ISN will also notify you if the transaction gets declined, whereas third-party options force you to log into their system every day to look for declines.
For more information on ACH and surcharging, click here.
As a Guardian customer, setting up e-check and surcharging takes two simple steps:
- Fill out the ACH application here
- Once your ACH account is approved, Guardian will coordinate with ISN to get it integrated and turned on
Bing, bang, boom, you’re done! This straightforward task provides your customers with another complimentary benefit, setting your business apart from the competition.