Employees can get their salary, wages, reimbursements, and benefit payments directly into their bank accounts, even when working remotely. They do not need to collect a paper paycheck in person or make a trip to the bank to deposit a paycheck and wait for funds to clear.

Consumers pay all kinds of bills – utilities, insurance, cable and internet, mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and more – online using ACH Payments. Most commonly, consumers pay bills directly at billing companies’ websites by authorizing ACH debits from their bank accounts. For those that are financially able, setting up automatic, recurring payments means that bills will never be paid late. Even monthly rent payments can benefit from being paid remotely and electronically, rather than in-person or by mail with a check.

With COVID, many businesses moved away from paying suppliers and vendors by check, which typically required signatures that could not easily be obtained while working remotely. Paying suppliers and vendors by ACH generally can be accomplished remotely by accounting or accounts payable staff.

Nonprofits and religious organizations rely on donations, which can be disrupted when in-person services and fundraising events cannot be held. Nonprofits and religious organizations can ask donors to contribute remotely by ACH from their bank accounts on a recurring, monthly basis. This will help prevent the interruption of donations during times of emergencies or even vacations.

To supplement lost income and other challenges during COVID, many Americans received economic impact payments via Direct Deposit. Just as with other uses of Direct Deposit, recipients didn’t have to wait for a check to arrive in the mail, and then make a deposit and wait for funds to clear. The federal government already uses Direct Deposit extensively, as 99% of federal salary payments, 99% of Social Security benefits, and 80% of tax refunds are paid by Direct Deposit.

For people who are applying for and collecting unemployment insurance, receiving benefits by Direct Deposit offers the same advantages over paper checks as for payroll payments. Recipients have faster access to funds without having to deposit a paper check.

No matter the tax year, the quickest way to get a refund is through electronic filing and choosing Direct Deposit. It’s not just tax refunds that can be paid via Direct Deposit. For example, many colleges and universities had to issue refunds when classes were canceled due to COVID. Schools can make these payments by Direct Deposit to avoid the need for employees to be in the office to process and sign paper checks, and to ensure that recipients receive money directly in their accounts.

Many of us hire small businesses and individuals to perform personal services—things like lawn care and landscaping; babysitting; housecleaning; and pet care. While it may seem easiest to use cash or write a check, you can set up automatic payments to minimize worries—such as not having cash or checks on hand.

Hospitals, clinics, and medical and dental offices can receive claim payments by the Healthcare EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) that uses ACH. As a national standard for the transaction under HIPAA, medical providers can require claim payments by ACH instead of receiving paper checks.

Financial professionals recommend that people have 3-6 months of savings to carry through an emergency. One of the easiest ways to do this is to put savings on autopilot by using Split Deposit, which sends a portion of a person’s pay to a savings account using Direct Deposit. Alternatively, a person could set up regular transfers from their primary account to a savings account, so that savings happen automatically.