|
Oppenheimer Funds Electronic Payment Services
When you become an Oppenheimer Funds customer, you are automatically enrolled in the company's Automatic Clearing House (ACH) program.
According to Alice McNair, Purchases Manager, "Customers can now easily establish ACH payments, move dividends to their financial institution accounts electronically and request redemptions from their mutual
fund accounts via ACH." Many companies have begun to offer their customers a new automated deposit and payment option utilizing the ACH Network. Oppenheimer Funds, a Denver, Colorado based mutual funds transfer
agency, implemented this policy last year in an effort to increase participation in their Asset Builder and Account Link services.
With Asset Builder, Oppenheimer Funds customers no longer have to write checks to their mutual funds on a monthly basis. Instead
Oppenheimer Funds automatically debits a customer's financial institution account(s) and transfers the funds to the customer's mutual fund account. These speedy, efficient transfers mean added safety, convenience
and earnings for Oppenheimer Funds customers. The Account Link technology allows customers to initiate purchases and redemptions when they want to purchase mutual fund shares or to move money to their financial
institution account.
Oppenheimer Funds' focus is on what's best for the customer. With ACH, the process is seamless. The customer simply knows the
"check" goes to or from the financial institution without having to worry about writing it, buying stamps, or losing it in the mail. In addition, the Funds save multiple steps by eliminating the manual
process of issuing checks. Typically, a company must absorb the expense and time it takes to:
- print paper checks
- fill them out
- separate them
- remove the carbon paper
- put the checks through a signature machine
- stuff them into envelopes
- seal the envelopes
- mail them to customers
- reconcile statements, and if necessary, stop payment on and reissue lost or stolen checks
Oppenheimer Funds felt it was important to educate their customers on the safe and reliable ACH environment, even though many of their
customers were already familiar with ACH payments from Direct Deposit of their payroll or Social Security benefits. The ACH Network, the largest electronic payments network in the United States, serves as an
efficient, reliable and proven means of transmitting funds -- and is virtually error-proof.
In 1995 and 1996, Oppenheimer Funds undertook a large Asset Builder and Account Link promotional effort to existing customers. During that time
period, 7,000 customers previously receiving paper checks were converted to ACH payments. The campaign increased Asset Builder usage by 24% and Account Link usage to 31%.
Due in part to the success of these programs, Oppenheimer Funds decided to establish an ACH Receiver program in late 1996. The program allows
customers to initiate non-routine payments and redemptions. School districts which utilize payroll deductions to fund their employees' retirement plans, in particular, have made this a popular program because of
their need for flexibility. School districts wanted the ability to send retirement fund purchases as they change with the employer's and employees' needs, instead of having Oppenheimer Funds initiating the same
amount for every transaction.
|
