Re: Electronic Payments

[Durham, Lanny]

Ray,   "They fear having a third party with access to their bank account number".   I'm not sure I agree.  A company's account number is at the bottom of every check that they mail out, and the U.S. postal system has never been known for being the most secure organization.    I do believe that accounting people are fearful that electronic payments being delivered to a Bank via a VAN can be materially altered - particularly the payment amount and the receiving bank account information.  This is a very appropriate fear, in my opinion.      I don't quite with the following statement as well:   "... electronic payments through a VAN is just as secure as going through the ACH network set up by their bank"   I would suggest you visit your local ACH.  The transaction security is far beyond anything offered by a VAN.  However, there are many methods of applying security to VAN-transmitted payments that reduce this risk - encryption, authentication, control totals, etc.  Your company's Bank should be able to give you particulars as the security methods they recommend for payments.    Richard Hurd had this comment:   We receive an 820 every morning from our bank via our VAN. Our customers use their VANs to send 820s with ACH information and remittance advices and our bank splits off the remadv's and sends them to us via another 820.  We've done this for years with nary a problem. Our accounting people were the driving force behind this... they LOVE it when the sales people talk another customer into doing EFT with us. :-{   What Richard is saying is that using a VAN for RECEIVING payment information from your Bank is definitely secure.  This is just remittance information being sent by the Bank; the payment has already been made.  But when Richard says "Our customers use their VANs to send 820s with ACH information and remittance advices...", he may not be aware of the security methods that are in place between the Customer and their Bank.  SENDING payments is where the problem of VAN security is most prominent.   Lanny Durham Senior E-Business Consultant, Commerce One Global Services 413-499-5232 x329 [EMAIL PROTECTED]  -----Original Message----- From: Ray Schell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 11:07 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Electronic Payments     How can we convince accounting people that electronic payments through a VAN is just as secure as going through the ACH network set up by their bank.  They fear having a third party with access to their bank account number.  The contract with the VAN is not helpful.  It states, "For the purposes of operation and maintenance we may use, copy, display, store, and distribute internally your information. . . . . We do not guarantee that procedures will prevent....improper access to your information".  This looks to me like they are saying they aren't responsible if someone gives your bank account number out and empties your bank account.        I am not sure that they will go along with the contention that businesses have been using this method for years and there hasn't been any business hurt by a fraud through improper access.  What has been the experience of others with Electronic Payments via EDI?                   R. Ray Schell, EDI Coordinator        TAMKO Roofing Products, Inc.     417 624-6644 Ext. 3360     [EMAIL PROTECTED]     The opinions expressed are those of the individual and not those of TAMKO Roofing Products, Inc.