How to choose

Choosing how to get paid: five questions

1. Will the payer push, or let you pull? A pull (ACH debit, PAD, card) gives you timing and data, plus the return risk. A push is easier for payers to adopt, but leaves timing and remittance with them.
2. How big is the ticket? On a $10,000 invoice a purchasing card costs a few hundred dollars in interchange; ACH, under a dollar.
3. How many invoices does one payment cover? One: CCD+ or a card is fine. Fifty: ask for CTX, a portal payment or a remittance file you can parse.
4. How soon must funds be final? Wire, RTP and FedNow on arrival; business ACH debits after two banking days; cards after months; checks last.
5. US or Canada, and where exactly? Canada means EFT and PAD rules, a 2.4% surcharge cap and a ban on surcharging Quebec consumers. Some US states ban or cap surcharges.

My defaults would be ACH credit with CTX or CCD+ for established payers, ACH debit under a signed authorization for recurring billing, card only below the ticket size where the fee eats the margin, wire or instant for large urgent amounts, and EFT or business PAD in Canada.