The use of strong digital signatures and certificates greatly enhances the transacting parties ability to assess the validity of a transaction automatically, further reducing risk. Information Richness Paper checks themselves are not typically thought of as an information rich transaction. However, when compared to the information contained in most other electronic transactions, checks do carry more information. Unfortunately, this information is typically not in a form that can be captured and is therefore unusable. Beyond the information contained on the check itself, checks are most often presented with additional information, such as a remittance or invoice copy, that which must be manually entered into systems.
Electronic checks enhance the information value of paper checks substantially.
First, the information carried on the eCheck itself is in a form that allows it to be usable. Second, by design, echecks can have unlimited information, in any format, attached and sent with the payment, much like a paper envelope can carry additional pages. Since this information is already in electronic form, it will be much easier to integrate into existing systems without manual re-entry, saving significant time and effort.