Intuit has developed an online payment system that will enable customers t
o pay invoices online with funds transferred directly between the customers' and buyers' bank accounts. The Intuit Payment Network will not only enable these electronic payments, but the record of the transaction can automatically feed into QuickBooks 2011.
The system was briefly described at Intuit's Investors Day this week with CEO
Brad Smith made a few comments about the payment system, including the fact that the network was developed from an initiative that crossed all areas of the company, including banking and healthcare. However, the details that were released came primarily from a video shown to attendees.
Payment would be made from the customer's bank account directly to the business owner’s bank account through ACH payment, which means the small business needs to be approved to receive ACH payments. There will also be an initial setup with QuickBooks before the automated recording of payments is enabled. Most transactions under $5,000 are funded the next day.
Smith did not provide an introduction date and one of the few details he provided was that the cost would be 50 cents per transaction. A firm launch date was not provided, but it would likely come before QuickBooks 2012 is launched and the new versisons typically launch in the summer.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind
