ACH vs. Check vs. Virtual Card: The True Cost of Each Payment Method

AP teams tend to default to checks because 'that's how we've always done it.' In reality, the cost of processing a single check is 3-10x the cost of an ACH, and virtual cards can even generate rebates. Here is the real cost breakdown of each payment method, where each makes sense, and why payment-mix optimization is one of the fastest-payback changes in AP.