HERNDON, Va., Feb. 24, 2011 — Small businesses empower employees to save automatically using Direct Deposit, according to a new study from NACHA — The Electronic Payments Association. Revealed today as part of America Saves Week, the study unveils that nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of small businesses who offer Direct Deposit provide the option for employees to split their deposit into multiple accounts.

"By enabling split deposit, small businesses are delivering a valuable employee benefit," says Janet O. Estep, NACHA president and CEO. "Split deposit means employees put money aside before it hits their checking accounts, and they don't become reliant on it for daily expenditures. It is a simple, safe, smart, automatic way to save."

Delving deeper into the findings, the study concluded that there is a direct correlation between the size of the business and the likelihood of the organization providing split Direct Deposit. The larger the business, the greater the ratio offering split deposit. Specifically:

• Eighty-one percent of businesses with 101 or more employees offer split deposit as compared to 65 percent with two to five employees.
• Of organizations with revenues of $15 million to $19.99 million, 76 percent offer split deposit contrasted with 61 percent of those with revenues under $500,000.

"The research showed that there is a continuous degree of variation in split deposit use by company size, both when reviewing the number of employees and the annual revenue," said Estep.