Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia endorses ePayPolicy

by Industry News & Company Updates

Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia endorses ePayPolicy

IIAG and ePayPolicy have teamed up to offer all members the easiest way to accept e-payments. Georgia agencies can now have their own, agency-branded payment page to collect any payment via credit card or eCheck.

“I will say that I was skeptical at first when I heard about ePayPolicy. Even after seeing a short demo, I thought it was too easy to use. We signed on and rolled this out to the staff. It wasn’t 24 hours before I was hearing how much they loved this process and product. It’s been a time saver as well as saving us on fees.” ~Betsy Olson Chief Executive Officer of IIAG

There’s no technical expertise, no contract, and you cancel at anytime. IIAG members should use the code “iiagmember” when signing up. Speed up your receivables with ePayPolicy!

Click here to learn more about IIAG’s endorsement of ePayPolicy.

Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents partners with ePayPolicy

by Industry News & Company Updates

Accepting credit cards and echecks has never been easier!  MAIA has partnered ePayPolicy as the payment processor of choice to its members. Agents receive an agency-branded payment page to collect any payment due to your agency.

“Over the years we’ve heard from many of our member agents – especially the smaller shops – that they are seeking a cost-effective way to take online payments. Our partnership with ePayPolicy fills this need by providing a simple way to process online payments from clients via ACH or Credit Card.” ~Heather Kramer  VP & COO of MAIA

Sign up is easy and online.  No contract or technical expertise needed.  Use your MAIA code, ‘maiamember’ when you sign up!

Click here to read more about MAIA’s partnership with ePayPolicy.

Integrating payments into your management system

by Digital Payment Processing

Integrating payments into your management system
We were recently given an fun challenge by one of our clients, Southwest Risk, a wholesale brokerage out of Dallas.

While they liked the simplicity of our online payment page, they could foresee a challenge given the sheer volume of payments they process – How would they reconcile all of those incoming payments against due invoices in their management system?


Since Southwest Risk uses Vertafore’s AIM product which is hosted it on their own servers, we were able to work with the IT team at Southwest Risk to identify the best integration point.

With the integration now live, Southwest Risk’s clients are able to see their due invoices in real time and choose which ones they would like to partially or fully pay. Instead of having to manually import Excel files back and forth between AIM and ePayPolicy, this real time integration automates the push and pull of invoice and payment information.

In addition, when a payment is made, the invoice numbers and amounts are clearly displayed on the e-receipt that is sent to all parties. Southwest Risk’s accounting department also has full access to our online dashboard to review previous transactions for easy record keeping.
Check out the short clip attached to this blog post for a quick demo.

And contact us to learn how you can integrate payments into your management system.

Technology that just makes sense

by Digital Payment Processing

Technology that just makes sense

Premium finance companies are already familiar with FinancePro. It’s a powerful, web-based solution that helps with loan management, carrier and rate tables. What takes it to the next level is its easy integration within the Vertafore agency management ecosystem.

If you’re serious about growing your agency or premium finance business, then we encourage you to become familiar with Vertafore. Here’s a link to a demo page that’s loaded with content. One huge benefit of using ePayPolicy, Vertafore, or even FinancePro is that they are all web-based solutions. There’s no software to install. That just makes sense. These are intuitive new technology solutions for the insurance industry.

As many of you know, FinancePro simplifies premium finance loan management and agent quoting. It gives you all the tools you need to manage your business, accept one—the ability to accept online payments. Until now you could only manage reports, notices, payment processing, quoting and account status, and compliance in all 50 states.

ePayPolicy and FinancePro integration provides seamless payment processing within Vertafore’s web-based platform. That’s two powerful tools to move your premium finance company to another level. Already a FinancePro user? We’re ready to help you marry these two powerful financial tools. Contact us to find out how.

Payments On the Fly

by Digital Payment Processing

Payments On the Fly
It’s 4.45pm on a Friday and one of your insured’s renewal is due today.  How do you collect a down payment to bind coverage?  In this all-to-familiar scenario, it’s virtually impossible to renew this client before the weekend arrives.  You have 15 minutes until the close of business and the short list of options available are:  a hand-delivered paper check, wired funds from a bank, or a faxed check.  All are limited in making it on time and are very labor intensive.

Delivery of a paper check is limited by the traffic, finding the check book, and having the right personnel handy to sign it.  If your client is in another state, forget about it.  Wired funds are tough to accommodate too.  Most banks’ deadlines are either 3pm or 4pm and they’re expensive.  On top of the $25 wiring fee, there has to be a bank representative available to execute the wire.  A faxed check requires the agent or recipient has to convert this into a paper check for deposit.  Again it’s very labor intensive and there’s more important tasks personnel can be doing. The faxed check also invites a layer of liability into your office.  The sensitive client data, account and routing numbers, are exposed.

Now before you go into your weekend with a high level of anxiety of a possible claim happening without a bound renewal, consider this.  ePayPolicy can facilitate this payment with a couple clicks of a mouse or a swipe of a smartphone.  How does your insured do this?  It’s easy.  Just email them your payment page and they can upload either a credit card or eCheck payment.  Here’s our demo payment page.   Once they make payment and hit ‘Send’ all parties instantly have an e-receipt emailed to them.  Your online dashboard will also reflect this incoming payment too.  Crisis averted!

In our society today, mobile and online payments are key.  Some of our clients took this a step further by adding our ‘PayNow’ button to their homepage.  Winstar Insurance in Austin, TX is one example.  The ePayPolicy ‘PayNow’ button is downloadable for free at the bottom of our homepage.  Call us for more details on how we can speed up your receivables and make your weekend more relaxing.

Configuring Vertafore's FinancePro with ePayPolicy

by Industry News & Company Updates

ePayPolicy and FinancePro are now integrated to provide seamless payment processing. Vertafore customers now have the ability to process credit card and ACH payments easier than ever within FinancePro. Whether you’re already a Vertafore customer, or are considering FinancePro for your company, we’re ready to help you marry these two powerful financial tools. Here’s what you do:

Step 1 – Sign up for ePayPolicy (5 minutes)
ePayPolicy makes accepting credit card and ACH payments a breeze. Our sign up process takes about 5 minutes and accounts are approved in 24 hours. We require no contracts, no bank statements, no personal guarantees, and no technical expertise. Once approved, a confirmation email will be sent to you that includes a Vertafore link in the footer.

Step 2 – Send us an email
Click the link in your confirmation email footer, or click here and let us know you’d like to connect your ePayPolicy and FinancePro accounts. We work directly with Vertafore on your behalf to enable FinancePro configuration within a couple of days.

Step 3 – Configure FinancePro (60 seconds)
Before you proceed further, make sure to process any pending payments.

Log into FinancePro and process any outstanding payments you may have. Next, click on Settings > Banking >> Electronic Payment Provider. There you will enable credit card and ACH payments, select ePayPolicy as your processor, and complete the fields highlighted in the image below. Hit save.

financepro-epaypolicy-configuration

Want to learn more? Drop us an email or give us a ring at 844-372-9300.

Just The Way You Like It

by Digital Payment Processing

Just The Way You Like It

No two smartphone are set up exactly the same – the widget and app choices are countless.  Today there are over 2.2 million Android apps and over 2 million Apple apps available for download.  According to Nielson, on average, smartphone users access 26 apps per month.  The customization of apps around our lifestyle, activities, interests, etc. demands the need for a crazy level of customization.  Is it a little too much?  That’s in the eye of the beholder.

Payment processing has not reached the fever pitch of customization like apps, but the demand is percolating.  So what could be customized in payment processing?  The information collected during the payment process is the biggie.  Logos, branding, and messaging are very important; however, client id, phone number, uploaded attachments, unique language, and payer’s state are vital to tracking and reconciling payments.  Just ask any office manager or controller.  And the best part is that all of the inputted data ports directly into the online dashboard.  Can you recall this information at a later time?  You bet!

ePayPolicy payment pages now offer this level of customization.  The standard payment (see demo here) page is only $20 per month.  If you want customized fields, it’s only $40 per month.  And we don’t limit you to any amount of fields.  Reach out to us to learn more about what payment page options work best for you.  And I promise we won’t overwhelm you with 2 million choices.  All the best, Your ePayPolicy Team.

The Rise of e-Payments and the Paper Check Decline

by Digital Payment Processing

Checks cause a number of problems and we’ve experienced all of them at one point in time.  Slow-pays, made out to the wrong entity, not signed, checks that are never sent, or even fingers pointed at the USPS.   Checks are just excuses to never mail it… the reasons goes on and on.  And we’ve lived with those problems for years, all the while making company policies and rules on how to handle these problem payments.  And to create and implement such internal rules and regulations sucks a ton of human and financial resources to do so.  But checks weren’t all bad.  For many years there were only two ways to send a large sum of money – bodyguards with kevlar carrying your funds in a briefcase or a written check sent with the pony express.

But today is a different story.

The internet is the disruptor to paper checks. Based on research from The 2013 Federal Reserve Payments Study on payment trends among Americans, it found that the number of paper checks Americans have written since 2000 has declined by more than 50 percent, while electronic and card payments have tripled over the same time frame. That trajectory won’t slow down anytime soon.

So what’s the future? eChecks and credit card payments will dominate the immediate future for payments. Most millennials have never experienced the woes of the paper check and I don’t blame them; I wouldn’t buy them either.  Sell a millennial anything and they’ll ask to use their debit or credit card. How many reward credit cards do you own? I have two in my pocket and I love it when I can rack up points for any purchase.

Checks are on life support and will likely give up the ghost someday soon. If the millennials have anything to say about it, they would’ve pull the plug yesterday and I would applaud that!

Tips: Take your agency to the next level

by Digital Payment Processing

Tips: Take your agency to the next level

Sometimes those of us in the insurance industry struggle to embrace new technology. Gone are the days of software installation, complicated licensing, and time-consuming training sessions. Using web-based applications to take your agency to the next level is how we separate ourselves from the competition.

We will be leading a valuable breakout session–Game Changers–at the IIAT Small Agency Conference in San Marcos on Monday, Sept. 19th at 9:30 am. Let’s turbocharge your agency toolkit so you can leverage ePayPolicy to grow and retain business.

Come find out how easy it is to implement technology changes at your company without an IT department.

We look forward to seeing you in San Marcos where we will answer your most challenging questions about accepting electronic payments by ACH or credit card online, 24/7.

Speed up your ACH Payments

by Digital Payment Processing

Faster Than a Speeding ACH

Usain Bolt is fast and his stunning performances at his third Olympics proved it. Fiber optic internet is really fast too and once you’ve tried it, there’s no going back. My six year old son so is fast I can’t catch him. ACH or eCheck payments…well, they’re slower than molasses uphill in the winter compared to any electronic payment contemporary. And they’ve proven that since their origination in 1974. But, as Dylan said, “the times they are a chang’n.”

How does same day ACH (eCheck) delivery of funds sound? Exactly, it’s awesome! Currently, it’s on the immediate horizon and it’s exciting to all banks and credit unions nationwide. Here’s the roll-out plan. Phase one of the Same Day ACH initiative goes live on Sept. 23. It will be for credit transactions only.  This will include three daily settlement windows five days per week. Debit transactions will follow suit in phase two in 2017. Individual and business transactions will improve in efficiency literally overnight. Both phases will affect all 14,000 plus banks in the US on day one.
This is huge for the insurance industry when most renewals come down to the last minute to bind coverage. 70% of all electronic payments are ACH’d funds. The faster these receivables can be delivered the more insureds are bound at the time of renewal without risk of lapse of coverage or heaven-forbid a claim over the weekend.

ePayPolicy has it’s eyes set on adopting this technology asap. As soon as payment processors are green-lighted for this technology, we’ll be the first in line to adopt, implement, and roll-out to our clients.

And I promise you this. It will be faster than my darting six year old with an Oreo cookie!