Buying Gold & Silver With eCheck

For many customers, eCheck provides a secure and efficient means of paying for their precious metals purchases. As with regular checks, eCheck enables customers to transfer funds directly from their bank account to their online dealer. However, unlike their paper counterpart, eChecks spare customers the trouble of mailing a check through an instant online transaction.

Still, despite the obvious convenience of its transaction process, eCheck provides very little benefits once the payment has been sent and places the customer in a lot risk with regards to security and penalization fees. So before using eCheck to make payments, it is important for customers to understand exactly what an eCheck transaction requires of them.

Process

Although the process of paying via eCheck may vary depending on the vendor, how it typically works is as follows:

1. The customer loads their cart with their desired products and selects eCheck as their payment method.
2. The customer logs in or creates their account, then inputs standard billing and shipping addresses.
3. The customer provides their routing and account numbers within the checkout form, which are securely transmitted to the vendor.
4. The vendor then uses the details to withdraw the requisite funds from the customer’s checking account.

From there, the vendor needs to ensure the payment clears and/or perform any other required security checks before shipping the products.

Advantages

One of the main advantages of using eCheck for precious metal purchases is its convenience. Because an eCheck can be instantly sent through the internet, customers no longer have to worry about whether their paper check will get lost in the mail or if it will reach their recipient in an appropriate amount of time. They can just send the payment and wait for their check to be cleared. Customers using eCheck also benefit from not having to pay any postage fees incurred by mailing their check, as well as quicker order processing times than that of paper checks.

Disadvantages

The primary disadvantage to making payments with eChecks is the immediate surrender of funds. Because payment will by instantly debited from the customer’s bank account following their transaction, it is essential for the customer to possess all the necessary funds at the time of purchase, regardless of how substantial the amount. Furthermore, eCheck will withdraw funds regardless of whether there is enough to cover the purchase, so customers are advised to make sure they have the required amount or risk incurring penalty fees due to “bounced” eCheck payments.

Ironically, despite the immediate withdrawal of funds, it can still take anywhere between 3-5 business days for eCheck to deliver the funds to an online dealer. This lengthy transfer period not only delays the receipt of payment by the merchant, but it also prolongs the arrival of the customer’s order. Given this situation, customers who require a swifter delivery of their order should consider an alternative method of payment.

Perhaps, the biggest concern that customers face when buying their precious metals with eCheck is the lack of privacy and security. As previously mentioned, when making your purchase with eCheck, you will be required to provide your bank account information to the dealer. However, surrendering such sensitive information can jeopardize both the privacy and and financial security of the customer. Always be sure you are only providing this information to a trusted dealer.

Buying Copper & Platinum With eCheck

Because so many customers are enjoying the reliability that comes with using eCheck for their silver and gold purchases, more online dealers are allowing them to use this method of payment on their copper and platinum purchases as well. Customers intending to purchase copper and platinum bullion with eCheck can follow the transaction process mentioned in the previous section. Please, note that all copper and platinum orders will be subject to the same restrictions and penalties as their gold and silver counterparts.

Buying With eCheck at JM Bullion

At JM Bullion, we pride ourselves on providing customers with the best transaction experience possible. We have recently instituted eCheck payments, but due to the risk of fraud with this payment method, are only able to offer this payment method to customers with established ordering history. If you are logged into your customer account and have been approved for eChecks, you will see the payment method on product pages, the cart, and checkout. For new customers, JM Bullion offers a number of alternative payment methods, which will allow customers to make their payments just as swiftly and conveniently. To view these options, please visit our Payment Methods Page for more details or call us at 800-276-6508.