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Small business customers can access their funds in real time*

62 %

of small businesses struggle with cash flow or maintaining a balance of money in and money out1

69 %

of small business owners say ongoing concerns about their cash flow status have kept them up at night1

24/7

To put small business owners’ hard-earned money in their pockets sooner, QuickBooks developed “Instant Deposit,” where eligible users can get their payments in real-time,* any day of the week—including weekends and holidays2

QuickBooks serves customers fast
deposits with “Instant Deposit” feature

Intuit, the developer of QuickBooks, knows that customers run their businesses in real time, and cash flow issues can arise when they have to wait for funds. To help small business owners access their money faster, QuickBooks and its payment processor, QuickBooks Payments, worked with Visa Direct, Visa's real-time* push payment platform, to launch “Instant Deposit,” a push-to-card solution. The feature allows eligible QuickBooks customers in the United States to get paid in real time.* And it’s been a huge help to small business owners who need to make every payment count.

A capability like Instant Deposit brings tremendous value to small businesses, especially during the times of COVID, as it literally became a lifesaver for many to get instant access to cash and offered the ability to use their funds to pay employees on time and fulfill commitment on their current projects.

— Rishav Chopra, Head of Product, Mobile Payments and Omnichannel Platform, Intuit

Challenge: Small business owners want fast payments to improve their cash flow

Although QuickBooks offers several ways to receive funds, traditional ACH payments can take up to five days. Even a next-day payment option can be too slow for small business owners who need to buy inventory, pay employees, and fund projects. Waiting for funds may leave small business owners strapped for cash and looking for a faster solution.

Solution: QuickBooks implements Visa Direct to deliver a real-time* payments experience

QuickBooks wanted to remain a leader in the industry by offering real-time payments. Seeking to deliver a more flexible customer experience and alleviate cash flow concerns for small businesses, QuickBooks developed a real-time* payment capability with Visa Direct because of the high number of eligible cards and competitive cost. Plus, Visa Direct enables QuickBooks to provide its customers the flexibility to schedule payments to be sent to their bank accounts via their eligible card. QuickBooks charges an additional 1% fee for “Instant Deposit.”

Result: QuickBooks users highly value the benefits of “Instant Deposit”

In response to COVID-19, QuickBooks removed the additional 1% fee for select users so small businesses could access their funds in real time* without paying an additional fee for two and a half months.³ Customers say that this has been a lifesaver during difficult times. The ability to access funds in real time enables them to fulfill orders and make deliveries when they couldn’t otherwise. Additionally, “Instant Deposit” helps small businesses that have moved online due to the pandemic to access their earnings in real time. QuickBooks is continually improving the “Instant Deposit” feature.

QuickBooks used Visa Direct to introduce a real-time* payment option to its QuickBooks Payments users, leading to increased customer satisfaction. QuickBooks customers can now manage their cash flow better, which fulfills Intuit’s mission to power prosperity.
*Actual funds availability depends on receiving financial institution and region.
  1. The Intuit Cash Flow Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 3,500 small business owners at companies of 0-100 employees, including 1,000 in the U.S. and 500 in the U.K., Australia, Canada, India, and Brazil, between November 1 and November 18, 2019.
  2. "Instant Deposit” is an additional service offered by QuickBooks Payments subject to eligibility criteria. Deposits are sent to the bank account linked to an eligible debit card in up to 30 minutes. QuickBooks Payments account subject to credit and application approval. Subscription to QuickBooks Online may be required.
  3. Standard payment processing fees apply for ACH and card transactions. Free period was April 23, 2020 – August 3, 2020 for the first 2.5 months a small business used “Instant Deposit”.