A business Holy Grail is straight-through processing (STP) to help speed payments processing but a new study, conducted by Boston-based Aite Group in association with Longmont, Colo.- based Parascript, a recognition solutions provider, suggested that there are big stumbling blocks especially for the small businesses that are the typical target market for credit unions.

For many financial institutions, the good news is that they have in place services that will help businesses speed up payments processing – but the bad news is that adoption, outside of the very biggest company, remains anemic. The study indicated that some 67% of large corporations use lockbox services, compared to just 18% of smaller organizations.

At many companies, receivables processing is a continuing issue. In a release, Parascript noted, "About one-third of midsize companies state that the timing of payments is their company's top challenge with regard to receivables processing, and that processing receivables requires a lot of manpower."