Wholesale Lockbox - A wholesale lockbox is one of the most widely used cash management tools for speeding up the collection of accounts receivable and maximizing available cash. It reduces mail, processing and availability float, thus accelerating the availability of deposits and giving you use of your cash more quickly. Almost any size company can benefit from using a lockbox.

With a lockbox, clients remit payments directly to a unique post office box for processing and deposit. The bank makes daily pickups from the box which reduces the time and handling costs usually associated with processing a large number of remittances. Payments are processed to ensure funds and information are available to you as quickly as possible.

The primary benefits of using a wholesale lockbox include:

• Faster availability of funds - All payments are processed the same day the bank receives them.
• Cost and time savings - Internal costs associated with remittance processing are reduced, saving time as well.
• Security - Extra precautions are taken to ensure the safety of your customer's payment information.

Automated Clearing House (ACH) - Electronic payments and collections via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) are the best way to streamline payables and receivables and reduce your costs of collecting and receiving payments. ACH transactions offer a host of cash flow benefits, including reduced payment costs, better control of payment timing, greater payment reliability and more accurate cash forecasting. The most common ACH applications are:

• Payroll direct deposit
• Pre-authorized debits and credits
• Vendor payments
• Cash concentration and disbursement
• State and federal electronic tax payments

There are three different ways to originate ACH payments:

1. With a direct transmission, you create a pre-formatted file and send it directly to Hancock Bank, which makes the payment electronically.
2. You can also use Hancock Net Solution to send batches of payments to the bank online for origination.
3. Or, you can work with a third-party vendor (a payroll processor, for example) who will send files for origination to the bank for you.

Hancock Net Solution from Hancock Bank includes an ACH module that lets you consolidate or disburse funds between companies or subsidiaries, create and initiate consumer electronic debits and credits, originate direct deposit of payroll, and originate state and federal tax payments. You can also use Net Solution to initiate repetitive and non-repetitive wire transfers.

The only technical requirements for initiating and receiving ACH payments are a PC with Internet access, a 128-bit encryption browser and a Windows 98 or later operating system.

Wire Transfers - Wire transfers are the most immediate, reliable and secure means of transferring funds available. They are usually most appropriate for high-dollar, time-sensitive transactions. A variety of disbursement, collection and reporting options are available.

Cash Concentration and Zero Balance Accounts (ZBAs) - These are most beneficial for companies with more than one location making deposits into multiple accounts. Funds deposited into remote accounts at different financial institutions can be concentrated into a central master account every night. This minimizes excess balances in the remote accounts, increases the availability of cash for other purposes (like investments or debt reduction) and allows for a greater return on cash resources."

Find out more information about Cash Management Services please contact a member of our Cash Management team.