Xero now allows ACH payments

Online accounting software provider Xero now allows users to accept ACH payments through its integration with Stripe.

To enable ACH in Xero, users go into their payment services settings and login to their Stripe account to connect Stripe ACH bank transfers as a payment gateway. They can then connect this to an invoice theme, which will enable the “pay now” button on the invoices they send to their customers.

When the recipient of that invoice makes a payment with ACH, Stripe will generate and display unique bank account details for that specific invoice. The sender’s bank details remain private. The recipient will then log into the bank of their choice, where they can initiate an ACH payment using the bank details provided on the invoice.

Xero accounting software on an iPad

Once the ACH payment has cleared, the money will be received in the Xero customer’s Stripe account, and the invoice will be automatically marked as paid. When Stripe transfers the money into the Xero customer’s bank account, Xero will match the payment and processing fee to the statement line for reconciliation.

“Our ultimate goal at Xero is to make sure small businesses are getting paid as quickly as possible, while making the experience from set up to reconciliation seamless,” said Craig Walker, chief technology officer at Xero, in a statement. “Building on our partnership with Stripe, this new feature gives our customers even more ways to get paid efficiently while keeping sensitive information safe.”

Last year, Xero’s partnership with Stripe enabled the software company to offer automated bank reconciliation.

“With the introduction of Stripe ACH, we are extending the ways a business can get paid into their Stripe account while maintaining the integrity of the first-class experience we've built between Stripe and Xero,” Walker added.

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Accounting software Small business accounting software ACH Xero Stripe
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