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West Chester Township reviews Edenred Pay proposal to shift vendors toward virtual cards to reduce check fraud
Summary
At a township work session, Edenred representatives described a vendor-payments platform that would move vendors from checks to virtual cards and ACH, citing fraud mitigation, a 1% virtual-card rebate and an estimated 6–8 week implementation; trustees asked for more review and contracts will be brought to the board later.
West Chester Township staff and representatives from payment firm Edenred presented a proposal during a township work session to route vendor payments through Edenred Pay, a platform that would give vendors the option of being paid by virtual card, ACH or check and that Edenred says reduces check-related fraud and generates rebates.
The presentation, delivered by Rob Snyder, Edenred representative, emphasized fraud risk tied to mailed checks and promoted virtual cards as the most secure method. "We're estimating that the annual rebate the township will earn is somewhere between $226,000 per year. So as far as the net, somewhere in the $2,030,000 dollar range is roughly what we're looking at," Snyder said, describing the rebate and net-benefit estimate. Edenred staff also said virtual-card volume would earn a 100-basis-point (1%) rebate paid monthly.
Township officials said the platform would be integrated with the township's vendor setup in Tyler Technologies (referred to in the presentation as Tyler Tech). Township staff described a vendor onboarding process that requires a W-9 and a vendor authorization form, after which finance would create a vendor ID in Tyler and vendors would receive an email to set up credentials in the Edenred system and select their preferred payment method. Edenred representatives said vendors retain the choice of ACH, virtual card or check.
Why it matters: presenters argued mailed checks are a primary source of payment fraud and that moving to electronic payments could reduce exposure and produce financial returns. Edenred cited an industry figure that about two-thirds of payment fraud involves checks and said virtual cards have the lowest fraud rate among electronic options. The company also described internal controls, two-factor authentication, bank-partner oversight and SOC reporting as security measures.
Supporting details: Edenred told township officials the vendor-payments program could be implemented in about six to eight weeks if the township is prepared for onboarding calls. The company quoted a one-time implementation fee of $3,500 to enable virtual card, ACH and check processing and said ongoing monthly service fees annualized to roughly $3,000; transaction fees would apply per ACH and per check and Edenred said it would charge about $1.75 per check (the company contrasted that with a roughly $5-per-check industry average that accounts for postage, envelopes and staff time). Edenred said the rebate on virtual-card spend is intended to cover transaction and service fees.
Security and liability: presenters said the platform uses vendor-validation software (identified in the presentation as GIACT or similar name) that flags name/bank-account mismatches and generates alerts for staff when vendors request payment-method or banking changes. When asked who would be liable for a fraud event, Edenred representatives said liability would depend on circumstances—whether an employee granted access through phishing, or whether a system breach occurred—and that those determinations would be situation-specific. "It depends on the specifics of that scam," one presenter said.
Local examples and partners: Edenred cited the City of Trenton as a municipal user and said the firm works through regional and national bank partners; the presentation named First Financial as the township's bank partner for the proposed service.
Questions and next steps: trustees and staff asked about fraud mechanics, the reliability of vendor validation, potential staff time savings and whether public entities use the platform. One participant, identified in the record as Mr. Wong, expressed skepticism about the company. Township staff said contracts would be brought back to the board for review and formal approval if the trustees decide to proceed; no contract vote or formal action occurred at the session.
The work session ended with staff and Edenred representatives agreeing to provide further information and to follow the township's procurement and contracting process before any board approval.
