From the September 2011 issue of Ceridian Connection.

According to a recent survey by The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) one in 13 American households doesn't use a checking or savings account. With approximately 12 percent of Americans not using a bankⁱ, direct deposit may not be an option for some of your employees. And, your "unbanked" employees are dealing with the inconvenience and expense of cashing paper checks.

"Over a lifetime, the average full-time, unbanked worker will spend more than $40,000 just to turn his or her salary into cash," wrote former President Bill Clinton and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a Wall Street Journal column on the difficulties of living outside of the financial mainstream.

Employees are not the only ones experiencing the negative impact of paper checks- businesses and the environment pay a hefty price as well. According to the American Payroll Association, paper checks cost $4.40 to produce. With printing, distributing and shipping, the environmental costs are also significant. If a company produced 400 paper checks a year, 144 pounds of greenhouse gasses would be released into the environment and 21 square feet of forest would be destroyedⁱⁱ.

How can you support your company's environmental efforts, save money, and provide your employees with a convenient way to get paid? The simple answer -- paycards. Paycards offer an easy, cost-effective solution for distributing funds to both banked and unbanked employees. Other key benefits of paycards include:

• Reducing check printing, shipping and distribution costs.
• Saving your employees check cashing and money order fees.
• Providing employees immediate access to their wages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Saving time sorting, reconciling and distributing checks.
• Helping your organization further its green initiatives.
• Easily replacing lost or stolen cards.
• Ensuring all employees are paid, even in the event of a natural disaster.

With paycards, you can expand electronic payment to your entire workforce while reducing costs and decreasing your carbon footprint.

Ceridian Paycard
The Ceridian PayGreen program is free and convenient. Watch this short video to learn how your business, your employees and the environment benefit when you take advantage of the PayGreen program with Ceridian Payroll.

Ready to pay green?

See what Ceridian can do for you by calling 1-800-729-7655 or completing the Let's Talk About My Needs form.

Sources:
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ⁱWall Street Journal
ⁱⁱEPA's Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator, 2010.