Author Topic: Alamy discontinuing cheque payments (Read 27296 times)

lisafx · « **on:** August 25, 2010, 12:42 »

Just received a notice from Alamy that everyone who gets paid by cheque will have to change their account details. From now on they will only do direct bank transfers.

I have mixed feelings. On one hand it will be nice not to have to wait a couple of weeks for the check, but on the other hand I am not crazy about giving my bank info to everybody and their cousin... Why can't they just do paypal or moneybookers?

Here's the text:

Dear Contributor,

We are making plans to phase out check payments by the end of the year.

With checks there can be issues with them being lost or delayed by the postal system. As a form of sending payment out, they are also not very cost effective.

If you are currently set up to be paid by check, now is a good time to change the method of payment to funds transfer in preparation. You can do this by going to "My Alamy" and then "Change payment and tax details". Your money will be sent via direct deposit ACH transfer.

For Contributors who currently receive wire transfers these will change to ACH direct deposits on September 1st. This method will save you money if your bank charges you for receiving wire transfers.
For this we need your bank's 9 digit routing code without dashes or spaces. This will be the 9 digit number on the bottom of your checks to the left of your account number. (The routing code number is also known as the ABA number, routing transit number (RTN), ACH RTN or FED WIRE number).
If you currently have a SWIFT (8 or 11 alphanumeric) code or CHIPS (6 digit) number as your routing code, please make the changes as soon as possible from within "My Alamy" in preparation of the changes.

Your bank should not charge you for receiving money this way and we do not charge you any fees for this. Please note that even though we may be using your FED WIRE number, we are not sending you a FED WIRE payment (this typically incurs a fee), we are sending you a direct deposit ACH transfer.

We will also need to know whether your account is a Checking, Savings or Loan account. We will automatically default everyone to have a Checking account, so you only need to change your details if your payments currently go to either a Savings or Loan account.

Again, we do not charge any fees for sending funds transfer payments and any money due to you will be clear in your account within 3 working days of us sending it.

Regards
Member Services

ShadySue · « **Reply #1 on:** August 25, 2010, 12:47 »

Quote from: lisafx on August 25, 2010, 12:42

Just received a notice from Alamy that everyone who gets paid by cheque will have to change their account details. From now on they will only do direct bank transfers.

I have mixed feelings. On one hand it will be nice not to have to wait a couple of weeks for the check, but on the other hand I am not crazy about giving my bank info to everybody and their cousin... Why can't they just do paypal or moneybookers?

Well, that's precipitate: they only announced a survey yesterday whereby contributers were invited to give their preference, and PayPal was definitely in there, and I'm pretty sure Moneybookers was another.

borg · « **Reply #2 on:** August 25, 2010, 13:05 »

I don't see where is the problem if someone knows your bank account number...

He can only make deposit on that number,nothing more...

PeterChigmaroff · « **Reply #3 on:** August 25, 2010, 13:13 »

Quote from: borg on August 25, 2010, 13:05

I don't see where is the problem if someone knows your bank account number...
He can only make deposit on that number,nothing more...

It's just that banks, being the pinnacles of the service charge model, charge for this service. I get dinged $15 for a direct deposit. That is $180 per year to receive money from Alamy.

Dreamframer · « **Reply #4 on:** August 25, 2010, 13:16 »

Bank transfers fees are big comparing to PayPal and Moneybookers.
Why people don't learn on other people's examples?

gostwyck · « **Reply #5 on:** August 25, 2010, 15:36 »

Quote from: lisafx on August 25, 2010, 12:42

... I am not crazy about giving my bank info to everybody and their cousin...

It is normal practice (at least in the UK) to include your Sort Code and Account No on an invoice so that the payee can transfer the funds direct to your account (via BACS). Most decent sized businesses stopped sending each other cheques many years ago. It's much quicker, easier to track and costs less in administration and banking fees.

gaja · « **Reply #6 on:** August 25, 2010, 16:17 »

We got a cheque as a present for our wedding 5 years ago. That was the first cheque I saw since the 1980s, and I haven't seen one since. Everything goes via electronic bank transfers. I sympatize by principle to all paranoid tendencies, but I really can't understand why anybody would want to recieve money by cheques rather than getting them directly deposited to your bank.

Of course, Payoneer and Paypal are good alternatives to all of us who suffer from healthy paranoia. Identity theft is common, and precautions should be taken. But not if you have to resort to cheques.

BTW: Imagine all the threes you will save!

lisafx · « **Reply #7 on:** August 25, 2010, 16:23 »

Well, here in the US we are still living in the dark ages apparently. Although we have and use debit cards, checks are still routinely used and accepted by pretty much everyone I know.

madelaide · « **Reply #8 on:** August 25, 2010, 16:41 »

Bank cheques are still used here in Brazil for many circumstances, such as paying a doctor or paying informally in installments (leave the cheques with the seller and he will deposit one each month). In commerce in general, however, it's basically cash, direct debt and credit card.

gaja · « **Reply #9 on:** August 25, 2010, 16:49 »

I read somewhere that you in the US have to pay the credit companies and banks to get to know how much you owe them. Is that true? I think it was something called a credit check or something like that, that you could only do for free once a year, and after that it cost a lot of money?

Do you have online banks where you can control your bank accounts, pay bills and transfer money for free? Or do you have to do this by paper and pen?

lisafx · « **Reply #10 on:** August 25, 2010, 17:38 »

Quote from: gaja on August 25, 2010, 16:49

I read somewhere that you in the US have to pay the credit companies and banks to get to know how much you owe them. Is that true?

No, that's not true. We get statements from our credit card companies and our banks every month. And if we want to know up-to-the-minute we can call customer service.

Quote

Do you have online banks where you can control your bank accounts, pay bills and transfer money for free? Or do you have to do this by paper and pen?

Yes, we have online banking. I still prefer paying most bills by check. Checks are free too. I don't want every creditor to be able to dip in my account. By paying by check I have more control over when they get the money...

Freedom · « **Reply #11 on:** August 25, 2010, 17:48 »

We don't have to pay banking fee if we get checks. But with direct deposit, the bank will charge us.

I don't like this at all!

But I haven't got the email yet.

borg · « **Reply #12 on:** August 25, 2010, 18:10 »

Here in Croatia we are swimming in all kinds of online banking and card payments ...
Checks reminds me on my parents stories during my childhood from pre computer era.

lisafx · « **Reply #13 on:** August 25, 2010, 19:30 »

Quote from: borg on August 25, 2010, 18:10

Here in Croatia we are swimming in all kinds of online banking and card payments ...
Checks reminds me on my parents stories during my childhood from pre computer era.

Your parents sit around telling stories about how they used to pay for things with checks? Didn't they do anything more interesting to tell you about?

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #14 on:** August 25, 2010, 23:08 »

Lisa, are you sure this isn't a phishing scam? I haven't had an e-mail saying that and they don't say anything like that on the blog. They talk about maybe offering an additional payment method, not about demanding bank details.

ann · « **Reply #15 on:** August 25, 2010, 23:39 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers link=topic=11120.msg157375#msg157375 date=

Lisa, are you sure this isn't a phishing scam? I haven't had an e-mail saying that and they don't say anything like that on the blog. They talk about maybe offering an additional payment method, not about demanding bank details.

Last week, while on the "My Alamy" page, I saw (on lower right column) the notice about how they're discontinuing check payments for US contributors, and they need bank account info to wire transfer, send direct deposit, payments in future. I share your wariness about phishing scams, and wouldn't have acted on it directly from an email.

travelstock · « **Reply #16 on:** August 26, 2010, 00:57 »

Does anyone know if the new payment method works with banks in Australia, and if so whether there is any fee?

gaja · « **Reply #17 on:** August 26, 2010, 01:06 »

Quote from: lisafx on August 25, 2010, 17:38

Quote from: gaja on August 25, 2010, 16:49
I read somewhere that you in the US have to pay the credit companies and banks to get to know how much you owe them. Is that true?

No, that's not true. We get statements from our credit card companies and our banks every month. And if we want to know up-to-the-minute we can call customer service.
Thanks, I must have misunderstood something, then. That is quite common.

Quote
Do you have online banks where you can control your bank accounts, pay bills and transfer money for free? Or do you have to do this by paper and pen?

Yes, we have online banking. I still prefer paying most bills by check. Checks are free too. I don't want every creditor to be able to dip in my account. By paying by check I have more control over when they get the money...

I don't understand: Nobody is dipping into my account. When I want to pay a bill, I log into my account and pull up a form. Then I enter all the details and save it. The bill enters the list of other bills to be paid, and the withdrawal will happen automatically on the date I have chosen. If I want to change some detail (amount, account number, date...), I just click a the bill in the list and fix it, right up to the moment the money leaves my account, usually at 1200 the date I have chosen.
How can you get more controll than that?

gostwyck · « **Reply #18 on:** August 26, 2010, 03:55 »

A couple of years ago the UK government managed to 'lose' a couple of CD's containing the names, addresses and banking details of 25 million benefit claiments.

The outspoken TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, writing in his regular newspaper column, rubbished the concerns about the data falling into the wrong hands by publishing his own bank details together with other personal info ... but it didn't work out as he thought and he lost money;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1574781/Jeremy-Clarkson-eats-his-words-over-ID-theft.html

madelaide · « **Reply #19 on:** August 26, 2010, 05:35 »

Just got this, but these off-site links really bother me, even if Alamy is not a common name for scammers:

Quote

Dear Contributor,

We're considering adding some internet payment services as an option for royalty payments, in addition to funds transfer which will remain in place.

If you'd like to help us decide which ones to use, please complete our very short single question survey:

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22B4DGRZW3L

For regular updates and useful links, don't forget to follow us on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/alamycontribs

Kind regards

The Content Team,
Alamy

Phil · « **Reply #20 on:** August 26, 2010, 05:37 »

Quote from: holgs on August 26, 2010, 00:57

Does anyone know if the new payment method works with banks in Australia, and if so whether there is any fee?

Commonwealth dont charge me a fee. I had to ring them to get the international code. The C'wealth do send me a letter every month to say I had an international transfer $:-\$

I just got a survey from Alamy saying they are investigating online payments and please indicate whether I use Paypal, moneybookers, payoneer, other...

typing same time as you Madelaide

It was a single page push the button and 'thanks', no personal details or anything

massman · « **Reply #21 on:** August 26, 2010, 05:39 »

Quote from: Phil on August 26, 2010, 05:37

Quote from: holgs on August 26, 2010, 00:57
Does anyone know if the new payment method works with banks in Australia, and if so whether there is any fee?

Commonwealth dont charge me a fee. I had to ring them to get the international code. The C'wealth do send me a letter every month to say I had an international transfer $:-\$

I just got a survey from Alamy saying they are investigating online payments and please indicate whether I use Paypal, moneybookers, payoneer, other...

Here is the link http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22B4DGRZW3L

travelstock · « **Reply #22 on:** August 26, 2010, 07:07 »

Quote from: Phil on August 26, 2010, 05:37

Quote from: holgs on August 26, 2010, 00:57
Does anyone know if the new payment method works with banks in Australia, and if so whether there is any fee?

Commonwealth dont charge me a fee. I had to ring them to get the international code. The C'wealth do send me a letter every month to say I had an international transfer $:-\$

I just got a survey from Alamy saying they are investigating online payments and please indicate whether I use Paypal, moneybookers, payoneer, other...

typing same time as you Madelaide It was a single page push the button and 'thanks', no personal details or anything

Great thanks for that! Will probably be much easier than by cheque!

Pixart · « **Reply #23 on:** August 26, 2010, 13:48 »

If you haven't written a cheque in a while, wait until you have kids in school. It's constant!

donding · « **Reply #24 on:** August 26, 2010, 14:12 »

Some places you have no choice but to write a check if they don't have a debit/credit card scanner....so you still have to write checks or pay cash.

Quote from: gaja on August 25, 2010, 16:49

I read somewhere that you in the US have to pay the credit companies and banks to get to know how much you owe them. Is that true? I think it was something called a credit check or something like that, that you could only do for free once a year, and after that it cost a lot of money?

As for the question about having to pay the credit companies....I think you are referring to the credit bureaus. You have access to a once a year free check of your credit score and make sure there hasn't been a problem with identity theft. Unless there is an instance of credit denial, if you want to check again you do have to pay for it the second time. Your credit report does show who you owe and how much and how well you make your payments ect ect. It is used by loan institutions and credit card companies to check on how well your credit score is before they will approve your applications.

lisafx · « **Reply #25 on:** August 26, 2010, 14:12 »

Quote from: ann on August 25, 2010, 23:39

I share your wariness about phishing scams, and wouldn't have acted on it directly from an email.

Exactly^^.

As far as I know phishing scams include links for you to sign in with. This e-mail didn't. I went to Alamy in a new browser window and changed my settings. Also voted for paypal. I would much rather have paypal than bank transfer.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #26 on:** August 26, 2010, 14:25 »

Quote from: Pixart on August 26, 2010, 13:48

If you haven't written a cheque in a while, wait until you have kids in school. It's constant!

Very slowly starting to improve - this year there were a couple of payments I could make online.

I voted in Alamy's survey for PayPal. They didn't ask, but I wish they'd drop the payout amount from $250 if you use an online service

I have $180 sitting there and I don't intend to upload any more, but would like to remove my cash.

donding · « **Reply #27 on:** August 26, 2010, 14:30 »

Quote from: jsnover on August 26, 2010, 14:25

Quote from: Pixart on August 26, 2010, 13:48
If you haven't written a cheque in a while, wait until you have kids in school. It's constant!
Very slowly starting to improve - this year there were a couple of payments I could make online.

I voted in Alamy's survey for PayPal. They didn't ask, but I wish they'd drop the payout amount from $250 if you use an online service I have $180 sitting there and I don't intend to upload any more, but would like to remove my cash.

Keeping it at $250.00 lets them sit on a large amount of money earning them interest. Some people will never see payout and it just sits there earning interest. That would be the case on all the sites. Part of the income potential.

borg · « **Reply #28 on:** August 26, 2010, 17:26 »

They need minimum two online payment options if they want to cover almost worldwide...
Paypal doesn't work in many countries...

madelaide · « **Reply #29 on:** August 26, 2010, 17:33 »

I wished they let us vote for more than one option. I voted MB because I prefer it, although Paypal would still be a valid choice.

Orchidpoet · « **Reply #30 on:** August 26, 2010, 21:04 »

I am confused about the banking terms.

In Canada, if I get money through wire transfer, I will get charged twice, once by the overseas paying bank, and again by my home bank ($15).

But if someone makes a deposit to my bank account, there is no fee to me.

The question is whether or not Alamy can make direct deposit to my Canadian bank account without incurring fees to me.

cmcderm1 · « **Reply #31 on:** August 28, 2010, 00:09 »

Come On Alamy - READ OUR LIPS:

P - a - y - P - a - l

Thank You. Cheers. Have a bloody fantastic weekend.

trek · « **Reply #32 on:** August 28, 2010, 07:19 »

I sent an email to [email protected] asking that they add paypal. I encourage others to do the same. Thanks

borg · « **Reply #33 on:** August 28, 2010, 08:25 »

Quote from: scoutingstock on August 28, 2010, 07:19

I sent an email to [email protected] asking that they add paypal. I encourage others to do the same. Thanks

Ok! I will ask to add Moneybookers or Payoneer...

That works in my case....

Like I said we need minimum 2 payment options online...

pet_chia · « **Reply #34 on:** August 28, 2010, 14:59 »

Direct deposit paychecks are the norm if you work for a big company, where I come from. But I'm not sure if it's actually a good idea.

In the early 1990s the place I was at introduced a controversial overtime plan, which was not well thought out. All the employees understood the description of the plan to mean that if they came in to the office and worked between Christmas and New Years (on the three days that were normally designated freebie holidays every year) they would receive triple overtime, or something like that. A number of people took advantage of this generosity (?) by working like demons during these three days, and put in claims for a lot of hours. Evidently the HR or payroll people also interpreted the overtime scheme the way the employees did, because they started making out people's pay stubs and doing direct deposit of the claimed amounts into people's bank accounts. Then a couple of days later, someone in finance or some VP or something hit the roof. NO THAT'S NOT WHAT WE MEANT, they claimed it was a big mistake and they never promised triple overtime (or whatever it was). They ordered the payroll people to WITHDRAW the money they had deposited in people's bank accounts, which the banks did for them. Not only that, but I heard there were some people whose overtime money had NOT EVEN BEEN DEPOSITED YET in their account, but the company told the bank there had been a mistake in payroll and were allowed to withdraw the amount anyways. Needless to say this could have caused havoc with people's finances, like overdrawing their accounts or making them miss an automatic loan repayment or bouncing checks because of insufficient funds.

It didn't happen to me, but I was so shocked that I phoned my bank to find out how this could be so. They said, "We allow direct depositors to withdraw money if they tell us that they made a mistake. If you want to block this then you have to come down to the bank and do all kinds of paperwork to prevent it." Or words to that effect. I'm not sure but possibly they wouldn't let you do direct deposit unless you also allowed the depositors to yank money out of your account.

It's one thing to put up with this for a company you work for where you can walk right into HR or payroll and get it straightened out, but with a bunch of strangers you've never met, in a land far, far away? Sounds dodgy to me.

lisafx · « **Reply #35 on:** August 28, 2010, 16:34 »

Thanks for sharing that Pet Chia. I have always heard the same - once you allow people to deposit money INTO your bank, they also have the ability to take money OUT of your account. That's my main reason for not wanting too many people to have access to my account.

ShadySue · « **Reply #36 on:** August 28, 2010, 17:07 »

Quote from: lisafx on August 28, 2010, 16:34

Thanks for sharing that Pet Chia. I have always heard the same - once you allow people to deposit money INTO your bank, they also have the ability to take money OUT of your account. That's my main reason for not wanting too many people to have access to my account.

Lisa:
Did you check this thread on the forums? They're considering PayPal, Moneybookers, Payoneer and 'others: please specify'.
http://www.alamy.com/forums/default.aspx?g=posts&t=8749

Dreamframer · « **Reply #37 on:** August 28, 2010, 17:45 »

I voted for Moneybookers, because I'm using it primary, and I'm sure majority of people will vote for PayPal. So I hope both options will be included.

stockstudios · « **Reply #38 on:** September 07, 2010, 08:07 »

ACH Transfers do not cost you anything. You are giving the same information that is on your checks that you write.
This is the Alamy Blog post:

Update on USD payments
Permalink17 August 2010 at 15:10 by James Allsworth - Content Executive
Posted under Boring but necessary announcements, News

We are making plans to phase out check payments by the end of the year. With checks there can be issues with them being lost or delayed by the postal system. As a form of sending payment out, they are also not very cost effective.

If you are currently set up to be paid by check, now is a good time to change the method of payment to funds transfer in preparation. You can do this by going to “My Alamy” and then “Change payment and tax details". Your money will be sent via direct deposit ACH transfer.

For Contributors who currently receive wire transfers these will change to ACH direct deposits on September 1st. This method will save you money if your bank charges you for receiving wire transfers. For this we need your bank's 9 digit routing code without dashes or spaces. This will be the 9 digit number on the bottom of your checks to the left of your account number. (The routing code number is also known as the ABA number, routing transit number (RTN), ACH RTN or FED WIRE number). If you currently have a SWIFT (8 or 11 alphanumeric) code or CHIPS (6 digit) number as your routing code, please make the changes as soon as possible from within “My Alamy” in preparation of the changes.

Your bank should not charge you for receiving money this way and we do not charge you any fees for this. Please note that even though we may be using your FED WIRE number, we are not sending you a FED WIRE payment (this typically incurs a fee), we are sending you a direct deposit ACH transfer.

We will also need to know whether your account is a Checking, Savings or Loan account. We will automatically default everyone to have a Checking account, so you only need to change your details if your payments currently go to either a Savings or Loan account.

Again, we do not charge any fees for sending funds transfer payments and any money due to you will be clear in your account within 3 working days of us sending it.

Dreamframer · « **Reply #39 on:** September 07, 2010, 09:35 »

is this mean no paypal and no moneybookers?

madelaide · « **Reply #40 on:** September 07, 2010, 11:28 »

Quote from: lisafx on August 28, 2010, 16:34

I have always heard the same - once you allow people to deposit money INTO your bank, they also have the ability to take money OUT of your account.

I never heard of that here in Brazil. You can cancel a transfer while it has not been processed yet, but not after. Even my employee can not withdraw money they deposit in my account; if there was any error, they have to deduct it in my next payment. They are very few situations in which this is not the case, but as far as I know they require a specific authorization.

borg · « **Reply #41 on:** September 07, 2010, 11:56 »

Quote from: madelaide on September 07, 2010, 11:28

Quote from: lisafx on August 28, 2010, 16:34
I have always heard the same - once you allow people to deposit money INTO your bank, they also have the ability to take money OUT of your account.
I never heard of that here in Brazil. You can cancel a transfer while it has not been processed yet, but not after. Even my employee can not withdraw money they deposit in my account; if there was any error, they have to deduct it in my next payment. They are very few situations in which this is not the case, but as far as I know they require a specific authorization.

Good point Madelaide, of course...
I never hear before that someone who knows my bank account number can make any other transaction except deposit on it...
I think people often mix credit card number and bank account number , these two numbers are completely different...
Bank account is part of your SWIFT number, but credit card or debit card issue number is a group of big numbers on our plastic cards (in groups of four digits)...
Someone who knows that number of your card and CVC number behind can make transaction from your account, but money leaves trail...

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Author Topic: Alamy discontinuing cheque payments (Read 27296 times)

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