If your organization is looking to integrate ACH payment processing, you likely have compiled a list of what your requirements are that are needed from the ACH API Provider. Integrating organizations can differ greatly in their needs, so be sure to have your transaction flows documented.

Moreover, having your transaction flow requirements ready to go for discussions with a potential ACH API provider might not be enough. Let’s consider some areas outside of the transaction flow requirements:

1. Will the ACH API provider assist with customer adoption? Let’s face it, credit cards are extremely popular, and for merchant organizations who have already been allowing transactions to take place via credit cards and are just now integrating for ACH payments, converting customers can be a chore. Sure, incentivizing customers to convert is one option, but there are other methods that can be of additional help. A good ACH API provider knows the barriers to converting and it should be part of their service to the integrating partner. Services could include document preparation, conversion marketing tools and even conference attendance. Make sure your conversations with any potential ACH API provider include customer adoption towards ACH payments.
2. ACH processing partnership. If you’re a software organization where your application serves multiple organizations or businesses in managing their business and it’s customers, you should consider revenue share by way of a processing partnership. The simple fact of the matter is that your organization and software platform becomes a defacto sales agent for the ACH API provider. Sales and marketing cost money, and because the application is providing that from the integration effort, your organization should be involved in some revenue share for that sales and marketing being done. For too long these payments partnerships have been underserved by processing facilitators. Software organizations that have a significant vertical reach can add a healthy dollar sum to their bottom-line by way of a payments partnership, all the while providing a better than market rate when compared to an individual merchant organization acquiring ACH capabilities on their own.
3. Understanding your business. If you’re part of a SaaS organization that serves multiple merchant organizations, it’s critical that your ACH API provider completely understand your business model and everything that surrounds it. This is where talking to a sales rep most often doesn’t cut it. Far too many of them only know the X’s and O’s of pricing and API specifications. You are due being able to speak to someone with significant experience in having worked with many organizations in facilitating ACH integration needs. We’re talking C-Level contacts here.