Study: More employees want direct deposit
April 10, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Payroll software
Companies that haven’t fully moved to direct deposit might want to look at the latest research on the benefits of electronic paychecks.
How much do companies save by switching to direct deposit? On average, $176.55 per employee per year, according to a recent study by the PayItGreen Alliance.
Besides the financial savings, the study also draws attention to the environmental benefits. When a company with 300 employees switches to direct deposit, every year, that employer:
- Saves 121 pounds of paper
- Avoids the release of 1,159 gallons of waste water, and
- Eliminates the release of 346 pounds of greenhouse gasses.
There’s also good news for employers that have tried to make the switch in the past but met with employee resistance. In 1998, only 35% of employees said they would use direct deposit if it was an option; last year, that number climbed to 76%.
View all the Latest StoriesTags: direct deposit, payroll
April 14th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I fully support Direct Deposit – but you have to keep in mind that unless you go to a paperless system you are still creating waste water, creating greenhouse gasses and you are NOT saving any paper. Most employees who have direct deposit still get a paper paystub.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Our company requires direct deposit. Employees love it. There is no stub sent out because co-workers can look up their paycheck history and review stubs at any time through a secure system. We offer kiosks inhouse for co-workers who may not have access to a computer at home. Being a manufacturing facility, not everyone is computer savvy, but there is an HR person available to help (me). My experience is that once I have worked with them a few times & walked them through the process, they tend to want to do it for themselves. It took several months for those who were technophobic to convert, but now that they’re used to it, they love having their own access any time they want it.
April 14th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
We’ve been offering direct deposit for our office staff for a number of years, but have been unable to offer it for our union ‘field’ employees due to time constraints and resistance from our payroll clerk. For the payroll department, it means extra steps each week; uploading an ACH file, two print jobs instead of one (one for checks & another for direct deposit stubs), and then assimilating these into one pile for envelope stuffing. This is in addition to maintaining the records to accommodate direct deposit.
The only cost savings I’ve seen is reconciling cash management accounts is easier because you have a lump sum rather than individual pay checks. I can see that it would be a cost savings if we required all employees to direct deposit, but that’s never going to happen in our environment.
Am I missing something?