WELCOME TO THE REPAY BUSINESS PAYMENTS KNOWLEDGEBASE
No results found.
REPAY vendor payment automation helps organizations simplify and optimize their accounts payable (AP) payment processes.
Using the secure REPAY Payables Platform (RPP), we digitize manual AP processes, replacing paper checks with faster and more secure virtual cards, Automated Clearing House (ACH) and digital disbursement payments.
Backed by our team of Payments Specialists and implementation experts, we help ensure vendor payments are made on time and accurately.
Watch our video to see how it works.
Yes! REPAY has more than 300 software and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integrations built for simplified implementation.
Don’t see your software on the list? We can customize integrations to meet your needs.
After you sign our Payment Services Agreement (PSA) and designate a bank account, REPAY pulls the funds for each approved payment group from your bank account via ACH and deposits them into a custodial account.
REPAY then pulls or pushes payments from the custodial account to vendors using their preferred payment method.
In most cases, yes. For most clients, the entire invoice payment process can be handled in the REPAY Payables Platform (RPP) immediately.
Accounts payable (AP) teams often still rely on tedious, manually intensive paper processes.
Paper processes are inefficient, error-prone, expensive and prime targets for fraud.
Digitizing manual AP processes offers faster and more secure ways to pay vendors.
REPAY vendor payment automation helps you:
We require a signed Payment Services Agreement (PSA), which can be completed digitally. If we are pulling funds from your account to fund the payment group, an ACH addendum is required. Pulling funds is the preferred method, but you can push the funds if needed.
Have the following information ready before starting the application:
Corporate name, address and contact information
Must match your articles of incorporation
“Doing Business As” (DBA) information
Used on vendor remittance
Federal Tax ID, business start date and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
Beneficial owner information
Executive sponsor information
One individual with significant responsibility, such as an executive officer or senior manager
Only the executive sponsor can sign the PSA.
Signatures are securely collected through DocuSign.
We can verify your business using your articles of incorporation or Secretary of State documentation showing “Active” status.
If REPAY is pulling the funds, we require one of the following to verify your bank account:
Bank-issued printed voided check
First page of the bank statement
Signed verification letter from the bank
Yes. REPAY supports multiple bank accounts by creating a separate customer ID for each. This is common for businesses with multiple locations or divisions.
Yes! It is essential to alert your bank before sending your first file.
Ask your financial institution to whitelist the REPAY bank ID. Contact REPAY to get the correct ID.
This step helps ensure timely funding and prevents delays and rejects during the funding process.
Most accounts are approved the same day when the information is complete and accurate. Approval generally takes 2–5 business days when all required information reaches underwriting in a timely manner. Missing information or documentation will delay approval.
Vendor payment automation simplifies your workflows. You spend less time confirming how vendors want to be paid and more time on strategic work. You stay in control of payment group approvals, and REPAY handles the rest once a group is approved.
Yes. REPAY does not currently support invoice entry or scanning, so you continue entering invoices in your ERP or accounting system and send payment data to REPAY.
You can send vendor payment data using:
Roles are based on viewing, editing or both. REPAY supports custom roles, and common roles include auditors, payment group administrators, payment group creators and payment group approvers.
You can customize the tasks each role can perform, such as:
REPAY Payments Specialists contact each vendor the first time an invoice needs to be paid. They determine the vendor’s preferred payment method and securely store the vendor’s data in our platform.
Note that the preferred payment method on file becomes the default and overrides any other payment method used on the invoice.
Payments Specialists contact vendors when their first payment is submitted, and again on later payments until the vendor’s payment preference is confirmed.
The REPAY vendor network has 800,000 vendors and is expanding every day.
REPAY Payments Specialists work through the following hierarchy to pay each vendor:
Virtual card: the first attempt is to set up virtual card acceptance.
ACH: if the vendor cannot accept virtual cards, Payments Specialists set up ACH.
Check: if the vendor accepts neither, REPAY issues a check and mails it.
Before a check is printed, REPAY checks whether the vendor is already on a digital lockbox network. If so, the payment can be delivered digitally and no check is mailed.
Paying one-time vendors and sole proprietors: For individuals and sole proprietors, REPAY offers digital disbursements. These vendors are automatically flagged and sent a secure claim link to receive their payment by virtual card, push to a personal debit card or bank transfer. This gives you a digital option for one-time vendors who aren’t set up for standard enrollment, so you don’t have to default to a check.
At a minimum, we require the invoice number, vendor “remit to” address (including city, state and ZIP code), vendor customer number and vendor phone number. An email address is optional but strongly encouraged.
If you don’t have “remit to” information, the payment may fail.
If the information needed for enrollment isn’t available, payments will default to check. The more information you can provide, the better the chance of a positive payment experience.
Payments Specialists reach out to the vendor as many times as needed. If the vendor remains unresponsive, REPAY issues the payment by paper check, which can delay the time to payment.
Yes. You can exclude any vendor from enrollment by leaving them out of your payment files.
Vendors should contact REPAY directly to update their payment information:
Payments Specialists call vendors from 801.679.6044 or another Utah area code.
How you create a payment group depends on your integration method. Please contact your relationship manager for more information.
There is no limit to the number of invoices you can include in a payment group.
No. The entire payment group is approved with a single action. You can remove invoices or payments from a payment group before approval if necessary.
Payments are approved at the payment group level. During implementation, you identify who can approve payment groups. You can also set up approval hierarchies.
Once the payment group is submitted to the portal, the designated approver receives an email notification that it’s ready to review and approve. You can also approve from the Payment Group screen.
Yes. You can assign multiple people as payment group approvers, but only one approval is required. The person who approves the payment group is recorded on the payment group record.
Yes, it is possible, but we generally don’t recommend it. Using different people to create and approve payment groups is a best practice for internal controls.
Approval depends on how quickly your designated approver reviews the payment group. Reporting updates automatically to show an approved status.
Yes. You can attach copies of supporting documents, such as invoices, to a payment group. REPAY automatically provides links to check images, so you don’t need to attach them.
After a payment group is approved, REPAY:
Payment groups approved before 12:00 PM ET have funds withdrawn the same day. Groups approved after the cutoff are withdrawn the next business day.
Once a payment group is approved and the funds are withdrawn from your account, REPAY places a one-business-day hold. After the hold, virtual card and ACH payments are processed immediately. Checks are printed and mailed, and delivery can take 7–10 days.
The date an invoice is marked as paid depends on your integration method. Please contact your relationship manager for details.
You can cancel any payment group that has not been approved.
Users with the proper permissions enabled will see the Cancel button under the Approval button.
Whether you can cancel a virtual card payment depends on the status of the payment and when the card was issued.
A virtual card can only be cancelled if the full balance is still on the card, meaning the vendor has not yet processed it. If the balance is zero, the card has already been processed and cannot be cancelled.
Virtual cards also cannot be cancelled in these situations:
If a virtual card qualifies for cancellation, contact payableshelp@repay.com with the details. Refunds can be issued as long as funds are still available on the card.
Yes, as long as the payment group has not been approved.
There is no cost to reissue a payment. The payment method used will still incur its normal cost, as outlined in your agreement.
REPAY supports virtual cards, ACH and paper checks. For individuals and sole proprietors, REPAY also offers digital disbursements.
A virtual card is a single-use, 16-digit card number that is automatically issued once a payment is approved. Its realtime capabilities and security features make it popular for faster and more secure payments.
How does it work?
REPAY emails the vendor the card number, expiration date and security code for the approved amount. The vendor processes the payment just as they would with a typical credit card.
Email is the preferred method of sending a virtual card. If a vendor cannot accept payments via email, a Payments Specialist performs a Representative Assisted Payment (RAP).
Virtual cards and remittances come from payments@repay.com.
Once the vendor receives the virtual card information via email, they enter the payment details into their virtual terminal or other point-of-sale (POS) device.
If a vendor cannot accept a virtual card by email, REPAY follows the RAP process described above.
REPAY waits seven business days to see whether a balance remains on the virtual card.
If it does, a Payments Specialist will help the vendor accept the funds, reissue the payment by check or offer a different payment method.
Virtual cards are subject to traditional interchange fees, set by the card networks. Any fees are between the vendor and their card processor.
REPAY may still use a virtual card if it remains advantageous compared to a check in cost, timing or other factors. In that case, the fee is deducted from any rebate earned.
An Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment electronically transfers funds from one bank account to another using routing and account numbers.
To accept ACH payments, the vendor must complete the ACH agreement. Once it is submitted to REPAY, we perform a comprehensive verification to validate the account.
The vendor must provide:
It depends on the type of ACH. Standard ACH has no fee. Vendor-paid ACH has a 1% fee assessed to the vendor and offers additional benefits to clients and vendors compared to standard ACH:
Same-day ACH
Enhanced remittance
REPAY offers two types of ACH remittance emails:
REPAY is notified of ACH rejects and returns.
Payments Specialists then reach out to determine the root cause and reissue the payment.
A vendor may still be paid by check if:
Before any check is printed, REPAY checks whether the vendor is on a digital lockbox network. If they are, the payment can be delivered digitally and no check is mailed.
Checks remain part of the payment mix, but they don’t have to come with guesswork. REPAY has enhanced the check experience in four ways:
REPAY has multiple check printing locations throughout the U.S. for network redundancy. Each check is routed using delivery performance data, with rules built around real-world conditions such as a printer’s busiest days, severe weather and the destinations a facility reaches fastest. Rules adjust as network conditions change, so traffic moves around slow spots before they affect delivery.
There is no set timeframe for a check’s lifecycle, as many factors can affect the timeline. The check cycle can range from a few days to a few weeks.
Analytics-driven routing helps checks reach vendors faster. REPAY cannot control when a vendor deposits a check, but delivery confirmation lets us confirm the vendor has it in hand.
Consider this longer scenario:
Many factors can delay check payments, so allow for them when planning.
At a minimum, we require the vendor’s remit address. If we have an email address on file, the vendor will receive a notification when the check is sent.
Log in to the portal and locate the payment. You can see:
REPAY also provides delivery confirmation, giving you a funded-to-delivered view of each check and giving vendors proof that it arrived.
Check images are available on the Payments tab. To download a check image, select the payment ID and click “Download check image.”
Note: If you need the cleared check image, contact payableshelp@repay.com. RPP provides images of issued checks only.
Place a stop payment if a check is lost or stolen, or if there is incorrect information.
You can place a stop payment on any check in Open status, meaning it has not been paid. In these cases, the payment is cancelled and the funds are refunded to your bank account.
Email payableshelp@repay.com with the details, including:
Your business name
Vendor name/number
Payment number
Check amount
Payment date
Vendors and their banks may charge a fee for stopped checks.
REPAY automatically refunds unresolved check payments to you after 180 days. Outstanding checks can be tracked in the RPP portal.
Yes. You are not required to send all of your payments through REPAY. REPAY can also pay one-time vendors and sole proprietors through digital disbursements.
REPAY does not set check amount limits, because funds are pulled from your account in a single ACH, not check by check.
Because REPAY issues checks to your vendors on your behalf, some processes may need to change. This may affect whom you select as payment group approvers, which you determine during implementation.
You can dispute a vendor’s claim that they didn’t cash a check when the check shows as paid.
Dispute resolution typically takes 10 to 90 days to investigate, send notification and issue applicable credits. For assistance with a dispute, contact payableshelp@repay.com.
Enrollment for digital disbursements differs from standard vendor enrollment. REPAY automatically flags individuals and sole proprietors and emails them a secure claim link, so it’s important to make sure the correct email address is on file.
To receive a payment, the recipient:
Recipients have 5 calendar days by default to claim their payment. This window can be configured for your account. If a payment isn’t claimed in time, REPAY sends a check.
Vendor payment data is stored securely in the REPAY Payables Platform (RPP) database.
REPAY offers payment protection tools at no extra cost, so you don’t need to use separate providers to protect against a wide range of threats.
Protections and certifications include:
Positive pay
ACH validation
Encryption and tokenization
PCI DSS compliance
SOC 1 and SOC 2
And more
Read more about our compliance and how we prevent vendor payment fraud.
No. Access to vendor ACH payment data is limited to designated team members, specifically the Payments Specialists responsible for vendor ACH enrollment.
Payments Specialists who are not involved in ACH enrollment, along with all other REPAY employees, do not have access to ACH data. All payment information is fully encrypted to help protect it.
Commonly used fraud tactics targeting AP teams include:
Fraud tactics are constantly evolving, which makes it hard for organizations to keep up.
Contact payableshelp@repay.com as soon as possible.
We will work with you to try to recover lost funds and prepare the affidavit to submit to your bank.
The REPAY Payables Platform (RPP) displays all created payments. You can consolidate all the information into a single Excel file and adjust the data as needed.
Because REPAY uses a single ACH file to pull the funds for vendor payments, reconciliation is simpler and faster.
Realtime reporting is available in RPP on the main dashboard and on the “Search Payments” screen. You can also click a payment group on the Payment Group screen. Select the criteria, timeframe and columns you want to view.
Once a payment group is approved, you can track its status in realtime from within RPP. The information displayed includes:
The available amount changes as a payment moves through its lifecycle:
Contact your relationship manager or sales representative to submit an account request. We need your email address and the permissions or access level you need.
If you have multiple locations, specify which locations the user needs access to.
Use the “Reset your password” function or contact payableshelp@repay.com for assistance.
REPAY is the program manager of all the virtual cards. Therefore, we make money on the interchange fees for processing the cards.
Remittances come from your organization’s name and payments@repay.com.
Remittances include:
Check remittances follow the same layout regardless of print location. REPAY controls the remittance template, so comments wrap instead of being cut off, and there is room for a message pointing vendors toward faster digital payment options.
You cannot add your own documents to remittance emails. If you are enrolled in vendor-paid ACH, REPAY can include a CSV attachment with enhanced remittance data.
Once a payment is released and the payment method has been determined, REPAY releases card and ACH payments immediately. Checks are printed the same or the next business day.
When the payment group is approved, REPAY pulls the funds the same day. The next day, the funds appear in the custodial account but have not yet been verified. Once the funds are verified (24–48 hours), all payments are released.
If a payment cannot be completed, REPAY returns the funds to you so you can void the payment or reprocess it using a different payment method.
You can only place a stop payment on open payments. If the vendor has already cleared the funds, contact the vendor directly to resolve the issue.
Email payableshelp@repay.com to request a stop payment.
Place a stop payment in cases such as an incorrect vendor address, a lost or stolen check or suspected fraud.
In most cases, yes. Please refer to your agreement.
Contact payableshelp@repay.com with the details of the payment you want reissued and how you want it sent.
Partial payments are uncommon but can happen. If a vendor tells REPAY that the full amount is not owed, REPAY refunds the difference and emails you with the reason.
In certain cases, paying by virtual card and ACH can earn organizations rebates, which they can reinvest in the business. Rebate percentages vary. Please consult your agreement.
Contact your relationship manager or payableshelp@repay.com.
You’ll need to provide bank account verification, as described in Getting Started.
Remittances display up to 120 invoice lines. If we have the vendor’s email address on file, we can send additional details for an unlimited number of invoices.
REPAY does not issue 1099s. You can find 1099 information in your ERP or accounting platform, and we’re happy to provide payment totals on request.
Update the address in your ERP or system of record and include it in your next payment group. The change updates automatically in the REPAY system.
If an open payment needs to be rerouted to a new address, REPAY can update the address temporarily, but you must also update it permanently in your system.
Yes! You can combine selected vouchers into a single PDF and send it to your approver’s email.
You can also contact your relationship manager or visit our vendor payment automation page.
