from Hacker News

Digital Checks (not echecks) – better than ACH for sending money

by zengr on 7/12/16, 7:58 PM with 18 comments

• by stilt on 7/25/16, 4:58 AM

  We are using Checkbook.io for collecting payments from our customers.

  I like the product because it helps to reduce the friction for us. CB team is proactive in adding features and getting back to us with our queries and doubt. I think this product is having a lot of potentials.

  Good luck with the product!!!

• by zacharycollins on 7/13/16, 8:11 PM

  We're using Checkbook.io for our online ticket sales company that's aimed at K-12 performing arts. We offer two options: Stripe and paper checks. The reason we have to offer paper checks is because many of these PA programs are forbidden to connect bank accounts per their school rules. Over 60% of our programs are not able to use Stripe for direct deposit.

  Now we're able to either send them a digital or physical check automatically via Checkbook's API. It works flawlessly and saves us a lot of time!

  Plus they have awesome support. A+ team.

• by pjg on 7/12/16, 8:55 PM

  Disclaimer: I work for Checkbook.io

  The problem we are trying to solve is paper Checks are still being to pay individuals/businesses. ACH doesn't work for paying out because the recipient needs to verify account (a painful process if micro-deposits are being used ) and there is a delay of 3 business days. Credit Cards charge 2.9%+ which doesn't scale for larger transactions.

  Having a simple solution that can disburse funds overnight to the recipient with having to send out paper, sign up for some service or pay 2.9% is what we are building

  Different than the traditional echecks since it allows instant verification and works with bank accounts that may not be ACH enabled e.g. Money Market Accounts, Small Banks/Credit Unions that may not be ACH enabled

• by apoorv9990 on 7/12/16, 8:33 PM

  I tried using this to pay my rent. The key is the recipient didn't need to sign up for anything - they were verified instantly. They also claim to transfer funds overnight for businesses but I haven't tried that yet.

• by nikolay on 7/12/16, 10:12 PM

  The article and the website tell different info - TechCrunch says it's free up to 50 checks per year; the website - that it's free up to 25 checks. Then, it's $1/check, I assume, as there's no info for pricing for individuals. $1/check is too much - both for business and individual use, but especially for businesses! Plus, I don't see how is this better than ACH as most probably it's using ACH underneath unlike, let's say, Dwolla.

• by ghall on 7/12/16, 8:55 PM

  The year is 2016. Glad to see somebody is disrupting checks!

• by zengr on 7/12/16, 9:09 PM

  I did some work for this startup - crazy smart team and solving hard FinTech problems. Definitely a company to look out for in the near future.

• by teded32 on 7/12/16, 8:44 PM

  Go checkbook