While new digital financial solutions have changed the way we bank and pay our bills, there is still a large percentage of the population that prefers to use checks, brick and mortar outlets, and cash. But this doesn’t mean companies like Plastiq are not trying to sway this group and everyone else by providing solutions that can really simplify financial transactions.
The new Plastiq online payment service lets users make any payment regardless of recipient acceptance. With this platform, you can use your MasterCard, Visa, and American Express credit cards for almost all Plastiq payments.
But the wrinkle is that the new service helps you pay your bills by taking a picture or screenshot of an
invoice or ebill. Plastiq will then remind you of the due date via push notifications.
This feature is not new. There are many applications from financial institutions and other service providers that use the cameras of smartphones to deliver the same capabilities. For example, an application called Expensify gives its users the ability to capture receipts in this way.
One of the many financial institutions that also provides this feature is U.S. Bank. Its Picture Pay was rolled out in 2013, making it one of the first banks in the U.S. to provide this option for its customers.
Plastiq Online Payment Service
But that’s not all. Plastiq processes card payments so recipients can accept them with electronic bank transfer or check. And the recipient you send the payment to doesn’t have to have an account with Plastiq to accept card payments submitted through its service.
Anyone that provides goods and services in the U.S. and Canada can receive money from someone that uses Plastiq online payment service, even if they don’t accept credit cards. The company charges a processing fee of 2.5 percent of each payment for the service, and if the payment is late for any reason, the company says it will cover 100 percent of the late fees incurred on that payment.
All you need to pay someone is their name, address, and email or phone number. This information is automatically saved as part of your archive chronologically and you can use it for a single or recurring payments.
The payments can be filtered by payee name, card brand and amount along with real-time status updates for specific payments at any time.
With security being one of the biggest hurdles to wider acceptance of digital payment systems, Plastiq has benchmarked its security measures with the same solutions used by major financial institutions and governments. This includes 256-bit Extended Validation (EV) Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology, certified Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance, user authentication and security scans by Trustwave.
The Plastiq online payment service platform goes beyond taking a picture of an invoice and making a payment. With busy lifestyles, especially among small business owners, keeping track of everything that needs get done can get overwhelming. As long as you capture the invoice you want to pay as soon as you get it, Plastiq will remind you, make the payment and archive the transaction for your records, all from your smartphone or computer.
You can download the free Plastiq app on iTunes.
Image: Plastiq
Aira Bongco
It is amazing how the payment systems have evolved over time. I am just not so sure about businesses adopting this. It can happen but it will take some time.