Everyone can be a publisher now, or a filmmaker, or a recording company. Thanks to the internet, anyone can also now be very much like a bank or a credit card company, using computer code to create a means of accepting payments online.

Where banks and credit card companies used to be the only ones that could process payments, there are now many other options. 

There are advantages to this. Just as it can be very liberating to let everyone in on the opportunity to create books and films and recordings, it can be liberating for everyone to have the chance to accept payments.

But, let's face it, there's a lot of very poor quality content on the internet. It used to be that a writer, filmmaker, or musician had to be good enough at least to convince a company to make the investment to produce their works. Now, the increasingly level playing field lets amazing independent artists reach their audience easily -- and also lets untalented people send their stuff out into the ether freely. 

Just so, the increasing number of options for electronic payments opens the door for small companies -- and for scammers. People get more accustomed to the convenience of paying their bills online, but also more nervous about who they're dealing with when they make those transactions.

How can your company  get the benefits of the new possibilities in e-invoicing without suffering from the new dangers associated with it?

At SmartPay, we've chosen to stick with credit card and ACH bank transfer payments. You can choose your own merchant account, or go with our partner InterceptEFT, as you prefer. The level of security remains as high as if your customrs dealt directly with the bank or credit card company.

You also have a secure custom portal, so your customers know who they're dealing with and where their money is going. They can check their records easily, and they aren't shunted around from one site to another. They can feel completely confident when they trade with you.

But you also have the degree of control that you want and need. You get the fast turnaround that lets you keep costs down and the high efficiency that keeps your systems lean. That's good for your customers, too. 

We at SmartPay are keeping up with the new advances in EIPP, and we'll make sure that our system remains agile and responsive to these new opportunities -- without sacrificing the security and confidence we're known for.