Electronic Payments Touted as Green

The American Payroll Association is paying attention to consumer's interest in being green by touting electronic payments as being environmentally friendly.

Electronic payments through direct deposit and paycards (such as available through Ecount) are touted as convenient by automatically making the money available to you. But in honor of this year's National Payroll Week (you had it marked on the calendar, right?), the APA is highlighting that convenience also means conservation.

We're all too familiar with having to wait in line or at the drive-through at the bank, and those trips also require burning fuel, especially if you haven't organized your errands or live close enough to a bank to walk. The APA didn't provide any stats, but I'm sure eliminating 26 to 52 trips to the bank each year and idling the car ads up to a few bucks in gasoline. Multiple that by 146 million workers who are paid by check,and it makes a difference.

Paycards also save money since they don't require paper checks or statements. The money is automatically in the card, and the transactions can be viewed online and printed at home if needed.

Like every other industry, banking is realizing the opportunity in going green and looking to cash in by cutting costs and developing new services. You can get all of the paper documents you need with electronic payments, so I can't really think of a downside, can you?