Payment Methods

Vanderbilt's primary and default payment method is by electronic payment. We currently offer the following electronic payment methods:

ACH/Direct Deposit- This is the default payment method for payees holding "domestic" bank accounts in the United States.  The ACH Network is a nationwide batch-oriented electronic funds transfer system for the interbank clearing of electronic payments for participating financial institutions.

International Wire Transfer-   This is the default payment method for payees holding only "foreign" bank accounts. Vanderbilt contracts with a third party transfer agent to process international wire transfers directly to a payee's bank account. These transfers may be processed in US Dollars or in non-US denominated currency. Additional processing fees apply for all wire transfers.

When requesting an international wire transfer, the payee must include all relevant banking information on the face of their invoice or as an attachment to the payment request. The following banking information must be provided on documentation direct from the payee:

• Bank Name
• Bank Address
• Bank Account Name (as it appears on the bank account)
• IBAN and SWIFT/BIC
• If IBAN is not available, please provide the account and routing numbers for recipient's bank
• Any additional routing instructions required by the foreign bank
• NEW - The Intermediary Bank (SWIFT Code) preferred by the recipient's bank - NEW
• The currency to be transferred (USD or a specific foreign currency)
  Note : Specify if the payee must receive an exact amount in a foreign currency or the equivalent of a specific USD amount in the foreign currency.

Once initiated by Payment Services, based on established payment terms, the funds are most often received by the payee's (recipient) bank within 1-3 business days. The recipient bank releases the funds to the payee according to their banking practices, which may vary by company or country. Please allow sufficient time for these banking delays which cannot be controlled by Vanderbilt or our third party transfer agent.

Virtual Credit Card- This is a virtual credit card account, sometimes referred to as a "ghost card" that is issued in the name of Vanderbilt and to a specific supplier/payee. The credit card account information is provided to the supplier to be kept on file in a secure manner. When a payment is issued to a supplier accepting this payment method, a payment authorization is forwarded via email to the supplier notifying them of the payment amount to be charged to the virtual credit card along with a remittance advice listing the invoices being paid. The supplier's merchant service provider dictates related merchant fees that will be charged to the supplier for processing of these payments.

Payment Cards- A payment card is both a purchasing method and a payment method and is the preference for small dollar and retail purchases.

Paper Checks- This payment method is not preferred by Vanderbilt and may result in payment delays. Checks for payment of purchase order invoices are printed each Tuesday night and mailed to the vendor via US Mail on Wednesdays. Paper checks for payment of supplier invoices that are appropriately submitted via check requests are printed each night and are mailed the following business day via US Mail.

For internal control purposes, all checks payable to a supplier/third party are to be mailed directly to the supplier from Payment Services. Suppliers are not allowed to pick up checks directly from Payment Services. On occasion, a department may have a valid business purpose for picking up a supplier's check for distribution; in these cases, Payment Services may extend permission to the department on an exception basis with proper documentation.