According to the American Payroll Association, businesses pay between one and two dollars to issue each paper paycheck. Conversely, an electronic transfer of payroll costs about twenty cents per employee.1 Based on these statistics, a company with 300 employees paying $2 per bi-weekly paper paycheck could enjoy an annual savings of over $14,000 if all employees received paperless electronic payroll.
According to the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), direct deposits for payroll, benefits and expense reimbursements increased by more than 475 million transactions in 2009, with approximately 18.76 billion direct deposits recorded.2 That results in considerable savings for U.S. businesses. However, one key challenge remains—extending the savings of paperless payroll to employees who have no bank account to accept a direct deposit, despite the trend toward electronic payments.