The USA is moving away from cheques to e-billing and e-payment solutions, slowly but surely. The speed of conversion varies considerably by bank, type/size of company - see Remittance Coalition concerns - and industry. The leading cash management banks continue to expand their e-solutions. BofA Merrill just announced details of two new developments.

BillPay solution for small- to medium-sized companies 

BofA Merrill has added CashPro® BillPay to the their suite of payments solutions for business clients. This new service will enable small- to medium-sized companies move to a paper-free payments process, although at the end of the process a cheque can be produced if required.

CashPro BillPay is fully integrated with CashPro Online, BofA Merrill’s client access channel. CashPro BillPay is provided by BofA Merrill through a relationship with Bill.com, a leading business payments network company in which Bank of America has a partial ownership interest.

CashPro BillPay enables companies to upload invoices into the application, route them for approvals and schedule both electronic and paper payments. In addition:

• all cheque production is handled by BofA Merrill, eliminating the need for physical signatures, check printing equipment, mailing and storage.
• a document repository provides a central place to store digitally important items such as past invoices, monthly bills and related contracts, all easily accessible to a company’s multiple users and locations.
• all clients will have access to a large vendor directory, allowing them to link instantly with vendors for electronic payments without the need for bank account information.
• a comprehensive fraud management program for paper checks is integrated directly into the system.

CashPro BillPay is being piloted with select clients and will be phased in on a state-by-state basis, with completion throughout the U.S. planned by year-end 2015. 

ePayables virtual card solution surpasses 100,000 suppliers

BofA Merrill has announced that its proprietary electronic accounts payables solution, ePayables, has surpassed 100,000 enrolled suppliers. (Up from 56,000 two years ago.) The ePayables solution integrates seamlessly with a client’s accounts payable processes. ePayables is delivered through the bank’s proprietary card management platform, Works®.

Supplier enrolment

Key to the success of supplier enrolment is the direct support that BofA Merrill provides for clients. Dedicated ePayables vendor enrolment specialists work with clients to design and execute their supplier enrolment strategy. After launching the programs, the specialists continue to work with the client to conduct ongoing enrolment campaigns to help ensure their programs are optimised.

ePayables development and usage

Bank of America Merrill Lynch introduced its ePayables solution in 2005, the first bank to do so. Since then, the company has invested heavily in the Works platform. For example, new functionality introduced in recent years include Exact Auth Override and Push Payments. In 2014, the ePayables program is forecasted to process over 2.5 million transactions, or the equivalent of $15 billion in volume.