What is a batch payment and how does it work?

At 3S Money, our International Business Account allows our clients to send a batch payment to help simplify their international business banking.

 

A batch payment is when you send multiple payments to different recipients at once, but through a single payment as opposed to many individual transactions. It’s especially useful for businesses with international payrolls, or who have to pay recurring invoices, or are just looking to simplify the payment of high volumes of transactions. You might also find batch payments referred to as a bulk payment, mass payment, or a mass payout.

Whatever term is used, it means the same thing: one single payment from your account that simultaneously pays multiple recipients. 

 

As digital payments have become more and more prevalent, and many businesses act as intermediaries between two parties (think Airbnb or Etsy). They need to handle high volumes of payments in a timely and efficient manner has become more important than ever. 

 

Now you know what a batch payment is, let’s find out how one works.

Instead of making individual payments and processing each transaction consecutively, batch payments allow you to pay out to multiple receivers at once. Usually you’ll upload a spreadsheet containing all the information required by the software processing the payments.

 

The payments are then processed from one account, with a payment gateway generating the required amount and sending it to the receivers’ accounts in the preferred currency. Batch payments are ideal for when you have a high volume of regular payments, and are particularly useful for paying out to recipients in different currencies.

 

Batch payments are usually less prone to errors, because each recipient’s details don’t have to be typed out and processed individually. They also save time for senders, making this method of payment especially useful for businesses that are rapidly scaling in size. Batch payments are much easier to make adjustments to when compared to amending individual transactions manually. 

 

Batch payments also allow you to pay out in different countries and different currencies simultaneously. This means they're instrumental in helping businesses to expand globally, without having to make changes in their accounting teams. 

 

There are also cost-saving benefits with batch payments, particularly when making global payments, as fees are generally charged per batch as opposed to per payment. Discover how to send batch payments with 3S Money and simplify your global cash flow.