The Electronic Payments Network (EPN), the ACH business of The Clearing House Payments Company L.L.C., today announced that more than $1 billion in UPIC payments have been received by public and private entities across the United States.
A UPIC is a unique bank account identifier issued by financial institutions that allows organizations to receive electronic payments without divulging confidential banking information. Developed by the Electronic Payments Network (EPN), UPICs are for credit payments only and minimize the possibility of unauthorized debits, checks and demand drafts.
"2005 has been the year of the UPIC," said Rossana Salaris, Senior Vice President of The Clearing House, responsible for EPN. "The volume of UPIC payments grew significantly in 2005 as more than 20 companies were issued UPICs by their financial institutions. UPICs are gaining momentum because organizations increasingly recognize that they can reduce risk and facilitate cost-effective electronic payments. Given the success of the UPIC in 2005, we expect 2006 to be an equally important year for the adoption of the UPIC."
UPICs are currently used by public and private entities across the country, including nonprofit organizations such as colleges and universities, as well as a wide range of companies in the technology, telecommunications, medical technologies, real estate, and agriculture industries. In October 2005, The Electronic Payments Association-NACHA began using a UPIC to facilitate electronic business-to-business payments from its members.
UPICs are helping remove two of the key barriers identified in research from the Association of Financial Professionals - the lack of accurate bank account data for vendors and the reluctance to give out bank account information. In addition, an EPN research study found that 38% of large corporations reported unauthorized debits within a six-month period.