Keeping seniors’ finances safe starts by working with the businesses that interact with them on a daily basis, including home care providers. By introducing mobile payments into their business models, home care providers can play a significant role in reducing seniors’ susceptibility to fraud. Below are the three ways in which mobile payments can thwart potential risks:
- Eliminating card-not present transactions. Most home care providers bill monthly and accept credit cards by phone. However, card-not-present fraud increased by 40 percent (likely affecting an even greater percentage of seniors, the most vulnerable to fraud) according to a 2017 study by Javelin. By accepting on-site payments, seniors can take back control in the payments process – never having to provide card numbers by phone or through less secure online platforms.
- Reducing seniors’ vulnerability to scams. Adults 65+ are the primary targets for scammers. Many of these fraudsters do their research and know what companies their targets work with. They will call posing as an employee with that company and request credit card numbers over the phone, and many seniors divulge this information without realizing it’s a scam. If caregivers – and other companies with home-based services (plumbers, roofers, etc.) – offer mobile payments, seniors will less vulnerable to these scams, as they know when and how their payments are processed.
- Encrypting personal data. The Payably app is backed by state-of-the-art encryption security, ensuring personal information is kept safe.
The collaboration between Avalon and HCAOA to introduce Payably to its members was formed to lower operational costs and simplify administrative processes for home care providers throughout the nation.
“Our association is continuously seeking out new ways to help ease the day-to-day burdens faced by our members, which we believe Payably will do,” said Phil Bongiorno, Executive Director of HCAOA. “We wanted to offer our members a way to accept mobile payments in the field, and were impressed to find that Payably not only does this, but also automates the accounting process – which we believe will save home care providers many bookkeeping hours.”
HCAOA members will receive exclusive discounts on the Payably Suite, which includes 20 percent off Payably NOW, Payably SYNC and Payably INSIGHT (which can all be bundled).
- Payably NOW is an app that accepts mobile payments from anywhere and is compatible with chip cards and NFC payments. It is available to anyone accepting mobile payments.
Benefit to home care providers: Traditionally, home care providers invoice their clients on a monthly basis. However, processing payments in the field can cut costs, as card-not-present processing fees come at higher rates than on-site payment processing. Further, Payably offers lower rates on average than other mobile payments apps – which will continue to drop as more users join.
- Payably SYNC is a mobile app that syncs transactions processed through Payably NOW with QuickBooks Online in real time, automating the bookkeeping process. Customer data and payment information appears in a user’s QuickBooks Online account immediately after the card is swiped. At this time, Payably SYNC’s proprietary technology is only compatible with QuickBooks Online, but soon it will connect with additional bookkeeping platforms.
Benefit to home care providers: No more manual data entry or duplicate entries – home care providers can reallocate time spent on bookkeeping to caring for clients and growing their businesses. The connection between payment processing and accounting ledgers is done behind the scenes without requiring any additional steps.
- Payably INSIGHT adds an extra layer to Payably SYNC, allowing users to generate up-to-the minute reports on business insights – including sales, revenue and customer data.
Benefit to home care providers: Rather than waiting until the end of the month to evaluate revenue and profits, business owners have access to this information as it happens. Additionally, it automatically compiles payment information from every Payably NOW user within a company, ensuring all the sales information is in one place.
“Home care providers are an essential part of our local communities, helping those who need it the most,” said Steven Shollenberger, CEO of Avalon Solutions Group and co-creator of Payably. “Their time is extremely valuable, and we don’t want them wasting it on mundane administrative tasks when they don’t have to. That’s why we chose to collaborate with HCAOA and offer home care providers access to the Payably Suite at discounted rates.”
Payably’s collaboration with HCAOA will take immediate effect.