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ENET HDFC, ICICI CIB, Axis Paypro, & SBI Vistaar are some of the commonly used corporate banking platforms used by businesses for bulk payments.
Businesses opt for traditional corporate internet banking as running a business requires making outbound bulk remittances such as vendor payments, partner commissions, employee wages etc.
These payments are made regularly and hence, they need specialised infrastructure that can support the scale of transactions.
Enet HDFC & Similar Corporate Banking Solutions
Corporate banking solutions involve manually uploading Excel files in a pre-defined format, for example, Enet HDFC or HDFC wholesale banking supports only text files). Therefore, the process can be tedious & prone to errors.
There is a need for a better way to process bulk transfers with ease, especially for many new-age businesses with novel business models that revolve around moving money quickly & in an automated manner.
Online marketplaces paying their vendors is one such example; online gaming companies disbursing winnings to players is another.
At Cashfree Payments, we’ve built Payouts-a smart modern alternative to Enet HDFC netbanking & also other corporate banking solutions. It makes bulk payments simple, fast & automatic for businesses, with excellent customer support all along the way.
In this post we will evaluate Enet HDFC & similar corporate banking solutions & compare them with Payouts, as an alternative that is easier to get started, easier to operate & is built to help businesses scale & innovate.
Difference Between Traditional Corporate Banking Platforms like Enet HDFC Wholesale Banking & Cashfree’s Payouts
A. Modes of Payment & International Payments
| Corporate Banking Platforms | Cashfree Payouts |
|---|
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Modes of Payment
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| Bulk transfers can be made only to a beneficiary bank account. It includes fund transfers (i.e within Bank’s Branch Network), RTGS, NEFT, and DD/ Cheque outsourcing. However, there are no instant modes. | Send money to any active savings or current bank account in India. Also, send money instantly to any UPI-BHIM ID, PayTM wallet or debit card. |
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International Payments
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| Corporate banking platforms support only domestic transactions for bulk transfers. | Supports mass transfers from India to another country and also domestic transfers. The purpose of the transaction must be known while setting up the account. |
B. Availability & Speed of Transfer
| Corporate Banking Platforms | Cashfree Payouts |
|---|
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Availability |
| Only NEFT, RTGS & bank transfers. When it’s NEFT, transactions can be processed only in batches during bank-defined hours. Even if it’s RTGS, it can’t be processed on bank holidays. | Work 24×7 and so, independent of banking hours. |
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Speed of Transfer
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| No instant mode is available( unless it’s RTGS, which also does not process transactions on bank holidays). | Transactions happen instantly. |
C. Onboarding & System Requirement
| Corporate Banking Platforms | Cashfree Payouts |
|---|
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Onboarding
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| Detailed application form to be filled & submitted with all other documents in physical form.
Also, often bank representative needs to visit your office & help you with system configurations. They also train you on operating the file upload process. |
100% online process with paperless KYC. Moreover, it allows you to make your first transaction almost immediately.
You can chat with our experts or reach your dedicated Account Manager for real-time assistance during sign-up & once your account goes live. |
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Setup & System Requirement
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| Most platforms like Enet HDFC corporate net banking do not support Google Chrome & therefore often require specific browser settings like JavaScript enabled.
They also do not support the latest versions of MacOS. Also, some platforms may need digital signatures for identity verification every time a transaction is to be done. Note: A digital signature once installed on a PC, net banking can then be done only on that PC. |
Supports all Browsers as well as Operating Systems. Therefore, it requires no specific browser setting requirement. |
D. Ease of Adding Beneficiaries & Bank Account Verification
| Corporate Banking Platforms | Cashfree Payouts |
|---|
| The beneficiary addition is always a manual process. So, for bulk transfers, in most cases, all the beneficiaries first need to be added & approved in a multi-step process.
For example, Enet HDFC wholesale banking needs you to fill in a 17-column file providing details of every beneficiary. Moreover, validation may take up to 24 hours, in certain cases for adding beneficiaries to Enet HDFC corporate banking account, a letter signed by authorized signatories may be needed. |
New beneficiary addition & activation is instant. The user-defined cooling period can also be set.
So, for bulk transfers, no need to add beneficiaries. When you upload the excel file or use the Payouts API, new beneficiaries are added automatically. Verification facility to check if a bank account being registered exists or not. It also verifies the name of the account holder at the bank. Thus, using the bank account validation API, this process can be automated for adding any beneficiary. |
E. Processing Bulk Transfers by File Upload
| Corporate Banking Platforms | Cashfree Payouts |
|---|
| Banks need files to be in a certain format. For example, Enet HDFC net banking supports only text files (ASCII). If your payment file is in Excel or has a CSV extension, you need to convert it to the specified format and then upload it on Enet HDFC for processing.
The upload process is error-prone since the file name, file format, transfer date, & beneficiary code need to be correct & adhere to a strict format. |
Dashboard supports both single as well as bulk transfers.
Therefore, you need to upload a simple 4-column excel sheet containing just the account details & the amount. A 2-step maker-checker authorisation to disburse can also be opted for. |
F. Handling Transaction Failures & Reversals
| Corporate Banking Platforms | Cashfree Payouts |
|---|
| Even when there is even a single error in the payment file, the entire bulk transfer will be blocked.
Checking the status of the rejected file is difficult for example, Enet HDFC provides rejected file as a notepad file. You have to manually look for a reason for rejection-do the correction & then upload it. For transactions that are rejected by the payee bank & reversed into your account, the account statement needs to be checked manually & hence, it is very difficult to reconcile. |
During the bulk transfer, if there are invalid records in a file, even then valid transfers go through. So, in the end, you get a statement which shows you a list of failed transactions along with the reason for failure.
Rejected as well as reversed transactions are reconciliation by intelligent algorithms, so you can always know which transfer got reversed out of hundreds of transactions, & why. |
Below: Enet HDFC Net Banking Rejected File
G. Scope for Automation
| Corporate Banking Platforms | Cashfree Payouts |
|---|---|
| APIs for adding beneficiaries, initiating transfers & reconciliation are not supported on Enet HDFC net banking & also on similar corporate banking systems. Thus, transfers cannot be initiated on demand & require manual intervention | Provides simple, developer-friendly REST APIs which are easy to integrate with your system. So, APIs allow payouts to be initiated on-demand & processed instantly. Our infrastructure supports lakhs of transactions daily & is battle tested |
Cashfree’s Payouts is a unique API banking platform that automates bulk transfers. It also supports manual ways. ‘Payouts’ is used by businesses for first-of-its-kind use cases like instant refunds, on-demand wage disbursement, and also automated crowdfunding vendor settlements.
It also seamlessly integrates with our other payment collection products to offer a unified way for businesses to collect & disburse money.
