8 Tips for Navigating the Conversation: Outsourcing Bill Payment for HNW Parents

Our Top 8 Tips for How to Talk to Your Parents About Outsourcing Their Bill Payment

When it comes to discussing financial matters with high-net-worth parents, the conversation can be more complex than with the average household. High-net-worth individuals often have multiple investments, assets, and financial complexities that require careful management. If you’re considering broaching the topic of outsourcing bill payment for your high-net-worth parents, it’s crucial to approach the conversation with sensitivity, respect, and a focus on their financial well-being.

  1. Understand Their Financial Landscape

Before initiating the conversation, take the time to thoroughly understand your parents’ financial situation. This includes their assets, investments, income sources, liabilities, and financial goals. High-net-worth individuals typically have diverse financial holdings, and it’s essential to grasp the big picture.

  1. Emphasize the Benefits

Highlight the advantages of outsourcing bill payment with an experienced and hands-on team like Plumb. Mention how it can optimize their financial management by ensuring that no payments are missed, preventing late fees, and streamlining record-keeping. Emphasize that not only can this free up their time for more strategic financial planning and investment decisions, but it will give them more time to enjoy their lives and do what they love – whether traveling, spending time with friends and family, or just relaxing.

  1. Address Their Concerns

Acknowledge that your parents may have concerns about relinquishing control over their financial affairs. Listen actively to their worries and address them one by one. Discuss how they can maintain oversight and retain decision-making authority while delegating routine tasks. At Plumb, we understand these concerns and hear them from prospective clients almost daily. In fact, we created our proprietary Bill Pay App specifically for our clients. Our app provides bill pay transparency and insights that we know our clients want. Read more about our app here.

  1. Present Professional Options

Research and present professional options for outsourcing bill payment, like Plumb. We have a proven outsourced bill pay solution, including a proprietary bill pay app, with high-touch customer support, and expert bill pay accountants who ensure bills are paid accurately and on time.

  1. Discuss Privacy and Security

Assure your parents that their privacy and financial security are paramount. Choose a service provider like Plumb with bank-level security and a strong track record of safeguarding sensitive financial information. Explain the robust security measures in place to protect their data – you can learn more about Plumb’s focus on confidentiality and security here.

  1. Transparency in Costs

Be transparent about the costs associated with outsourcing bill payment services or hiring financial advisors. At Plumb, we are very upfront with our fees and take the time needed to walk our clients through exactly what they can expect in return.

  1. Ensure a Comprehensive Approach

When discussing outsourcing, stress the importance of a comprehensive approach to financial management. Explain that the chosen service provider will work in tandem with your parents’ existing financial team, including accountants, attorneys, and investment advisors – just as we do here at Plumb.

  1. Offer Ongoing Support

After the decision is made, offer ongoing support to ensure a smooth transition, but work with a bill pay service provider who will make this an easy and pain-free change. You’ll also want to find a firm like Plumb who offers high-touch, full-access client support.

Broaching the subject of outsourcing bill payment for high-net-worth parents is a delicate but necessary conversation that can enhance their financial well-being and peace of mind. By approaching this topic with empathy, knowledge, and a focus on their specific needs, you can help your parents make informed decisions that optimize their financial management while respecting their autonomy and preferences. Ultimately, this can contribute to their financial security and their overall happiness.

Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

Plumb Shortlisted for 2 Citywealth Magic Circle Awards

Plumb is pleased and proud to announce that we’ve been shortlisted for two Citywealth Magic Circle Awards:

  • Technology Innovators of the Year
  • UNHW Private Client Services of the Year

The Magic Circle Awards recognize the accomplishments of professionals and firms working with high-net-worth individuals and families. The awards are presented in London in front of an esteemed audience comprised of over 400 professionals representing over 140 diverse organizations.

Following a rigorous submission process, the submissions are assessed and judged by a panel of private wealth advisors. Online voting is also open to the public, and counts for 10% of the final award vote.

Our proprietary Bill Pay App is a big reason we have been included in this shortlist. To learn more about our services and Bill Pay App, please watch this brief overview video and reach out to schedule a personal demo.

Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

Plumb Bill Pay App: Spotlight on the Dashboard

The Dashboard on the Plumb Bill Pay App is designed to provide a quick and easy overview of the bill pay essentials that matter most to you.

The Dashboard provides a snapshot of:

  • Pending and approved bills
  • Number of bills paid
  • Dollar amount of cash outflow
  • Monthly payment commitments
  • Balance snapshot that shows a balance of available funds in your main bill pay bank account

{For a sneak peak at the Dashboard of the Plumb Bill Pay App, please watch this brief video.}

At the top of the Dashboard, you can view:

  • Total number of bills pending approval and their related dollar amount
  • Total number of approved bills and their related dollar amount
  • Total number of bills Plumb has paid on your behalf
  • Total cash outflow

The calendar can be customized to view the timeframe you are interested in seeing.

The center section of the Dashboard is a graph that represents your monthly bill commitments. These commitments are your recurring or regular monthly payments. The graph depicts both your actual payments as well as your committed payments. You can see:

  • What has been paid
  • What is still left to be paid
  • The variance between what’s been paid and the commitments for that month

Want to see this in action? Watch this brief video about Commitments.

The dashboard also highlights a balance snapshot which provides a summary of bills pending approval as well as the available funds from your designated bank account.

If your balance is lower than the amount of your bills pending approval, there will be a notification with the amount of funding required.

To learn more about our services and Bill Pay App, please watch this brief overview video and reach out to schedule a personal demo.

Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

Plumb Bill Pay App: Spotlight on the Commitments Module

So – what exactly are Commitments?

Commitments are your recurring bills – whether monthly, quarterly, annually, or some other frequency.

Not only can you – or a trusted advisor – view the projected cash outflow from these recurring bills on the app, but you can drill down to see the details of each bill, including the specific entity, due date, payment status, and amount due.

{For a sneak peak at the Commitments Module of the Plumb Bill Pay App, please watch this brief video.}

Examples of recurring bills are items like property-related expenses:

  • Utilities
  • Mortgage payments
  • Insurance
  • Property taxes
  • Landscaping
  • Maintenance for amenities like pools and tennis courts
  • Homeowners’ association (HOA) dues

There are also dependent expenses like tuition, and personal bills like cell phones, credit cards, country club or gym memberships, DMV renewals, updated car registrations, and estimated tax payments — to name a few.

In fact, because we know how important it is for you to see when these bills are due, and to verify that they’ve been paid, you have the option to create your own Hot List.

This personalized selection can be reviewed independently or alongside all your commitments. Bills designated on your “Hot List” are easily identified with a star, ensuring they never slip through the cracks of your financial management.

To learn more about our services and Bill Pay App, please watch this brief overview video and reach out to schedule a personal demo.

Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

 

 

Ensuring Bills Stay on Track and Deadlines are Never Missed

At Plumb we have a very intentional and trusted approach in place to ensure all client bills are paid on time.

Between our seamless process, our cutting-edge technology, and our tried-and-true best practices, one of the main priorities at Plumb is to ensure that client bills stay on track and deadlines are never missed.

Our Process

  • When we onboard new clients, we create an automated bill payment tracker for that client in our Bill Pay App. This essential tracker includes all necessary information about every bill – vendors, dollar amount, payment type, payment status, and due date.
  • When it comes time to issuing payment, we always have two sets of eyes on every bill. This crucial system allows us to ensure payment accuracy and prevent any bills from being missed.
  • We also help our clients set up auto-pay when and where it makes sense to do so, and part of our process also entails ensuring that these auto-payments come out of the designated accounts on time. There are several reasons why auto-payments may not be processed correctly, and it is our responsibility to confirm that these accounts are debited for the right amount at the right time.

Our Technology

  • Our Plumb Bill Pay team utilizes the Plumb Bill Pay app to check the bill pay tracker and to move bills through the payment workflow. The app has a clear and detailed list of bills for each client and each entity, vendor, amount owed, payment due date, whether the bill is recurring or not, and type of payment to be issued – whether ACH, wire, or check.
  • Our internal team is also alerted to deadlines as soon as they log into the app – which they do first thing in the morning, every day. Bills that need to be paid that week are highlighted in one way, while bills due that month are highlighted in another way. There is also an automated alert for any urgent payment needs.
  • The app automatically tallies all outgoing payments and matches it back to the invoice data. If there is an error, the Plumb team member will be alerted prior to payment being issued so that it can be resolved before it becomes a mistake.

Our Best Practices

While we are immensely proud of our proprietary Bill Pay App and the many ways it helps us ensure that bills are paid on time, we are still firm believers in our high-touch customer support.

If there are questions that arise, or issues that need to be discussed, our team will communicate directly with our clients or their trusted advisors to clarify, address, and resolve. Similarly, our team is always available to field questions and provide whatever bill pay support is needed.

Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

 

 

Plumb Bill Pay App: Overview

Plumb is thrilled to introduce our Bill Pay App.

We understand the unique needs of our high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients and their financial management teams.

Watch this brief overview video to see our app in action.

We created this app to solve the challenges we know our clients and their advisors face:

  • No more logging in and out of different accounts or tools.
    • Multi-entity payments are organized, tracked, and paid from one easy-to-use interface.
  • No more uncertainty about what needs approval and payment, and what’s already been approved and paid.
    • Upcoming due dates, items requiring approval, and recently paid bills are clearly outlined and organized on the app. Even better? You can create a “Hot List” to more easily track the bills that are most important to you.
  • No more inconvenient approval processes.
    • With one click clients can approve – or reject – their bills. They can also customize their auto-approval amount, making the bill pay approval process even more seamless.
  • No more concern over balances and outstanding bill amounts.
    • You’ll see a 6-month projection of your estimated cash flow based on your commitments. If you owe more than what is available in your balance, you’ll see an alert right on the dashboard.
  • No more missed phone calls or emails.
    • Send direct messages quickly and efficiently to your Plumb team from within the app.

The Plumb Bill Pay App provides an effective and highly secure method for bill payment. The privacy and security of our clients is of paramount importance, and our app was built with state-of-the-art, bank-level security.

This proprietary app delivers an intuitive interface that offers anytime, anywhere access to bill pay and cash outflow statuses.

For a sneak-peak at some of the app features, please watch these brief videos:

We’d love to discuss how you can benefit from this app. Please reach out today for a consultation and a demo.

Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

16 Questions You Should Ask Your Outsourced Bill Pay Provider – and Our Answers

  1. How does your Bill Pay process work?

From initial client set-up to ongoing high-touch support, we have this process down to a science.

  1. We ask the client or their designee to complete a new client questionnaire.
  2. Upon receipt of this questionnaire, we prepare a comprehensive solution-oriented proposal.
  3. Once the proposal is agreed upon and the contract is signed, we begin our seamless Onboarding process. We request a current vendor list and coordinate view only account access, where applicable. We prepare a billing tracker with all of the monthly, quarterly and annual bill pay commitments. Lastly we set-up the client/designee with access to our bill pay app and customize the invoice approval process.
  4. Once everything is set up, we begin the bill payment work which includes cash flow monitoring and comprehensive reporting. This reporting may include expense tracking, cost analysis/ variance explanations, budgeting, and forecasting.
  5. At the end of the year, we provide a Year End Summary Report and 1099/1096 filings to ensure that your CPA receives all the necessary details to incorporate the information into the annual tax filings.

If you have any specific questions, please read more about our process here.

  1. How do you keep client confidentiality?

We have full confidence in the established protocols we have implemented to safeguard the confidentiality of our clients.

We proactively protect classified data in several ways:

  • We have a customized cloud network built on unique specifications, backed on a singular data center that keeps all data stored and safe from localized data loss. This data center is certified PCI 3.0 compliant, HIPAA compliant, and SSAE-16 Type II compliant.
  • We maintain state-of-the-art bank-level security and an in-house IT department that provides constant monitoring and oversight.
  • We maintain rigorous oversight of internal client access.
  • We focus on a clear segregation of duties among our team.

We pride ourselves on our effective and all-important quality controls, security measures and confidentiality guardianship. Please let us know how we can assist you in your family office accounting or bill pay needs. We have more to share on this topic, so please see our blog posts about how we protect the confidentiality of our clients.

  1. Do your clients work with a team or an individual?

The quick answer is: both. When you work with Plumb, you have a team of experienced high-net-worth bill payment and accounting professionals at your fingertips. You will be assigned a primary contact for your day-to-day questions and needs, but that person works with an entire team of experts to help ensure not only the necessary quality controls, but also the high-touch support that is synonymous with Plumb.

  1. Do you pay client bills by check or wire?

We can pay bills by wire, ACH, or checks, and we follow the strictest of protocols to ensure that any and all payments are made securely. Please read our article with more details on this topic, including definitions of some important payment terms, here.

  1. How does the bank account set up work? Do we set up our own or under their name with a POA?

Bill pay account(s) are set up in the client’s name. The Plumb signers are then added to the account(s) as limited POAs to sign off on banking transactions, such as ACH, wires and checks.

  1. What type of reporting will they receive and frequency and can we see an example?

This depends on the scope of work. Plumb’s standard reporting package is  a monthly expense report with variance analysis.

  1. Can you help with collecting my K1s at the end of the year?

At Plumb, we can help you track and collect all of the various K-1s you are due to receive each year.  As K-1s are received, we reconcile them against the transactions in your books to ensure accuracy and work with the appropriate parties if corrections are needed.  We can then provide reconciled year-end financial statements to the CPA for finalizing tax returns. Still have questions? Please read our detailed recommendations here.

  1. What is your interaction with my CPA?

Plumb works in partnership with CPAs (as well as any other trusted advisors) to ensure all aspects of our client’s financial life work together cohesively, efficiently, and seamlessly. We act as a Controller-level point of contact between the CPA and client by delivering reliable, timely and organized reporting. We track 1099’s, K-1’s, charitable contributions, medical expenses, sales of stock and all other income, and we also handle the preliminary year-end tax work by preparing the Annual Tax Organizer. All this with the goal of being able to provide your CPA with the accurate and updated documentation they require. Please read this post about the ways in which we work with other financial advisors.

  1. Do I have to approve every invoice?

During the onboarding process we will review your goals for the management of your bill payment. We can set up your account so that you can approve certain bills, or bills over a certain amount, or even bills that are a certain percentage higher than what they typically are. Our client services are bespoke, and we can provide the assistance and support that works best for you and your lifestyle.

  1. What happens with all my bills? Do I forward them or do they come to you and how?

During the onboarding process, Plumb assists in getting delivery emails or physical addresses changed so that all invoices are coming directly to Plumb. During the onboarding/transition time, clients either forward bills to Plumb by email, send them weekly via overnight mail or upload them directly into the Bill Pay App. Generally, after 60-90 the majority of the bills are received directly by Plumb.

  1. Where is my account manager located and are they in my time zone?

Our Plumb team works remotely in the United States, across a few different time zones. If you prefer to have your main point of contact be someone in your time zone, we will make every effort to find you the best fit. However, we always tell our clients that our Plumb team is just that – a team of experts who are available to help answer questions and provide insights whether you are their direct client or not.

  1. Do you manage international accounts/handle my home in France? Or just US assets?

We have experience in handling bills related to assets outside of the US. Our recommendation is to be set up as a signer on the foreign bank account for ease of paying the bills oversees.

  1. Do you have a portal I log into to see the bills?

Absolutely. We have a proprietary bill pay app available on both web and mobile devices. Our app was designed with our HNWI clients – and their trusted advisors – in mind. It provides access and clarity to the bill payment process and makes approving bills, viewing bill payment status, and communicating with the Plumb team more accessible and easier than ever. Our intuitive and incredibly useful app is the logical evolution of our high-touch, high-tech service. If you’re interested in a demo, please reach out to Anneke to schedule time.

  1. Can advisors have view-only access to the information in the software/app?

Yes, that’s not a problem. During client onboarding we will review the details about who should have access to what, and who can issue approvals.

  1. Can my assistant or property manager approve certain invoices on my behalf?

Yes. You can select any trusted designee to approve certain invoices on your behalf. We can also set up your account so that invoices under or over certain dollar amounts are approved by different people.

  1. How do I know if more money needs to be funded in the bill pay account and how does that process work?

This can happen in a couple of different ways. The first is that your Plumb team member will let you know if your bank balance is underfunded based on the number and dollar amount of bills in queue to be paid. The second is that our bill pay app will show a bank balance snapshot on the dashboard of available funds. If upcoming obligations exceed the balance, a warning message with the shortfall amount will be displayed.

Plumb Bill Pay & Family Office Accounting is a high-touch technology bill pay and family office accounting service provider dedicated to serving the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Plumb ensures that your client’s bills are paid on time and works in partnership with you to deliver the highest quality data and financial reporting. In addition to our bill pay services, we also provide comprehensive Family Office Accounting support.

Let’s talk about we can help you, so you can devote more time to enjoying life.

Why – and How – to Track Monthly Spending for High-Net-Worth Individuals

There are many benefits to tracking monthly spending, regardless of your tax bracket. However, staying on top of monthly spending for high-net-worth individuals is especially important because they often have complex financial portfolios and spending patterns — which can lead to difficulties in understanding cash outflow, and where money is really going each month. Without clarity into how their money is being spent, it is more difficult to manage and preserve their wealth.

And that’s just one example of the benefits of tracking monthly spending.

Tracking expenditures for high-net-worth individuals has five main advantages:

  1. Leads to more mindful spending.

Access to monthly spending data provides a clear picture of spending habits, including both regular and irregular expenses. This information helps to identify areas where expenses can be reduced or streamlined, ultimately leading to better financial management.

  1. Identifies problem areas and where there might be overspending.

Tracking monthly spending provides a comprehensive view of one’s finances, making it

easier to create an accurate budget. This can help high-net-worth individuals allocate their funds effectively and avoid overspending in one area while underfunding in another.

  1. Assists with better planning for major expenses.

Or, put another way – helps to create a better, more accurate budget for future spending. High-net- worth individuals often have significant expenses like buying a vacation home, a yacht, artwork, or other high-value items. Tracking monthly spending can provide the information needed to plan for these major expenses, helping to ensure that there are enough funds available when the time comes.

  1. Provides increased awareness of investment opportunities.

By tracking monthly spending, high-net-worth individuals can identify areas where they have excess funds. This excess can then be invested in various opportunities that can lead to financial growth and stability.

  1. Improves cash flow management.

By keeping track of monthly spending, high-net-worth individuals can ensure that their cash flow remains positive. This helps them to avoid being caught in financial difficulties and maintain their wealth.

There are clear benefits to tracking monthly spending. But what is the best way to do so?

There are a few different ways that people can track their monthly spending, but for high-net-worth individuals we recommend outsourcing this task to experts (like us).

Why? That’s easy – it’s because we are solely focused on providing outsourced bill pay and accounting services to high-net-worth individuals and families. We’ve been dedicated to supporting these clients for decades, and we have a depth and breadth of knowledge that makes us true experts.

Outsourced bill pay service providers like Plumb offer monthly reconciliations to keep track of all transactions. Additionally, we provide easily accessible reporting to highlight the current state and future projections of cash outflow.

Plumb has also developed a proprietary bill pay app specifically designed for our clients and their financial advisors. This app streamlines the entire bill pay process and makes approving bills, viewing bill payment status, and communicating with the Plumb team easier than ever. It provides the clarity we know these clients need as well as access from anywhere, at any time we know they want.

At Plumb, we have a proven process in place for assisting our high-net-worth clients track their monthly spending:

Goal Tracking

  • We provide quantifiable information to help them meet the goals they’ve established.

Software Tool Assessment

  • We also make recommendations about the best software for them to utilize. For example, clients with multiple entities are best served by a software suite like Sage Intacct, whereas clients with more straightforward finances can use a platform like QuickBooks Online. Both are excellent tools, both can help to streamline reporting and create efficiencies, but it ultimately comes down to the clients’ specific needs.

Customized Reporting

  • When it comes to reporting, Plumb offers fully customizable reports. We provide P&L’s, expense tracking reports, cash flow statements, income statements, balance sheets, and more robust investment tracking reports offered by our Family Office Accounting team.

Supportive Services

  • We work in partnership with the wealth advisors of our clients, as well as directly with the client – whatever they prefer. Our goal is to make sure we are providing our clients with everything they want and need in their expense tracking.

Tracking monthly spending is a crucial aspect of personal finance, especially for high-net-worth individuals. With a considerable amount of wealth, monitoring how money is being spent is essential to making sure that they are on the right path towards realizing their goals and long-term wealth preservation. Outsourced bill pay and accounting service providers like Plumb are here to help ensure they have clarity into their daily finances so they can go out and enjoy what matters most to them.

Plumb Wins Two WealthTech Americas Awards – And Why This Matters

 

Plumb has been recognized at The Second Annual WealthBriefing WealthTech Americas Awards 2023 for two of our best-in-class – and best-in-industry – services:

  • Bill Pay
  • Payment Reconciliation Services

We’ve been extremely honored to have our services recognized across a variety of respected and established Family Office and Wealth Management publications and media firms. The acknowledgement of our superior services by the WealthBriefing Awards is especially meaningful as explained by ClearView Financial Media’s CEO, and Publisher of WealthBriefing, Stephen Harris:

“These awards were independently and expertly judged solely on the basis of entrants’ submissions and their response to a number of specific questions, which were answered by focusing on the client experience rather than purely quantitative performance metrics… These awards recognise the very best operators in  Americas’ wealth management, with ‘independence’, ‘integrity’ and ‘genuine insight’ the watchwords of the judging process – such that the awards truly reflect excellence in Americas’ wealth management.”

Why This Matters (or, Don’t Just Take Our Word For It)

Winning awards from established, longstanding publications like ClearView Financial Media is additional validation that we are who we say we are: the best service provider in the high-net-worth and family office bill payment space.

All submissions were reviewed by a panel of 15 independent family office and wealth management industry experts, and these wealth tech authorities have deemed that Plumb’s services and client support goes above and beyond what others in the field offer.

Here’s what they had to say about Plumb:

“It was the winner’s focus on providing clients with white glove, high touch service and emphasis on innovation that impressed, along with significant growth in department size, client size, and revenue. Plumb is a very worthy winner!”

What’s Next?

We are not ones to rest on our laurels. While we are grateful for the recognition, we are never satisfied with the status quo. We plan to continue to focus on our high-touch client service and continue to innovate in the bill pay field. Decades in, and we are as excited about our future as ever.

How Plumb Securely Handles Wire Transfers, ACH, & Check Payments for the HNWI

When managing the bill pay needs of high-net-worth individuals and families, it’s imperative to have bank-level security for all payments being sent – whether those are wire transfers, ACH, or old-school checks.

Plumb has the strictest of protocols to protect our clients and their money. And with our decades of experience working with HNWI, families, and family offices we have our payment security procedures down to a science.

 

First-time wire safety procedures

Any first-time wire transfer requests require verbal confirmation on a recorded line with the client or designee to confirm the transaction.

  • To authenticate the individual, they are asked a series of security questions.
  • Additionally, we reach out to the beneficiary on a recorded line to verbally confirm the written wire instructions that were provided.
  • A change to wire instructions also prompts a verbal confirmation from both the client and the vendor to reconfirm the instructions.

New vendor safety procedures

Any new vendor, an invoice with a 200% variance, or a vendor that hasn’t been paid in over a year requires a verbal with the client/designee before processing.

Employee cybersecurity training

Our team is also wholly trained in cybersecurity and participates in monthly security updates. They know what to look out for, how to spot a “scam” and what to do in the event that they suspect malintent: pick up the phone and confirm with the beneficiary, their designee, and the vendor. This step is as imperative as it is simple, and it can prevent fraud, months of headaches, loss of funds, and loss of the trust we have built with our clients. Preventing these events is of paramount importance to the Plumb team.

Is one payment option better than the other?

Although each payment option varies slightly in terms of how quickly a payment will be delivered or their associated costs (see below for more details), Plumb remains impartial when it comes to these different options.

Due to our stringent security measures and our internal system of checks and balances to ensure accuracy, payments made on behalf of clients via wire transfer, ACH, or check are all equally safe. While approximately 80% of our payments are made via wire transfer – especially those payments that are more urgent –  if a client prefers ACH over wires due to the fees incurred with wire transfers, we will always honor the client’s wish.

What’s next?

As a result of the pandemic and the improvements in bill pay technology, we have noticed a shift towards more electronic payments over the past couple of years. We don’t expect this trend to slow down any time soon. What we know for sure is that wherever the future of bill pay takes us, Plumb will be prepared with our best-in-class bill pay staff, high-touch service, and the latest security measures.

Glossary of Payment Terms

Wire Transfers

  • Speed of Payment: Same day.
  • Associated Costs: Fees can be incurred for both the sender and recipient depending on the bank. (Typically, $15-$30).
  • Safety: Funds are accessible immediately, so recipient is technically at an advantage.
  • Recourse in case of fraud: Once completed, there is no way of reversing. Internal process with the bank to handle the funds being returned (if applicable).
  • $ Limit: No limit for Plumb. (Daily limits with specified bank that can be increased as needed.)
  • Other Info: Currency rate/exchange fees can be incurred.

ACH (Automated Clearinghouse Network)

  • Speed of Payment: 1-3 business days.
  • Associated Costs: No cost.
  • Safety: More secure for the sender as funds can be reversed after funds have been sent (in most cases).
  • Recourse in case of fraud: Payments can be reversed by the bank (sender advantage).
  • $ Limit: $1MM limit.
  • Other Info: Limited to the US.

Check

  • Speed of Payment: Can take up to a week (or longer) to be delivered to a vendor.
  • Associated Costs: No cost associated with sending aside from postage fees.
  • Safety: Safe; Plumb’s policy is to send any high dollar checks, DMV payments, or tax payments via certified mail with tracking.
  • Recourse in case of fraud: Dispute and open a case with the bank.
  • $ Limit: No limit.
  • Other Info: International checks are typically sent using alternative methods like UPS or FedEx.