Why Traditional Lockboxes Miss the Mark (and How to Earn Yield Instead)

For decades, AR teams have relied on lockboxes as a way to handle the mess of paper checks. Customers mail their payments to a P.O. box, the bank picks them up, and funds eventually make their way into the company’s account. It’s better than having staff spend half a day opening envelopes—but the truth is, the model hasn’t evolved much since it was invented in the 1940s.

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And that’s exactly the problem. Traditional lockboxes do little more than shift the burden from your office to your bank. They don’t help you close the gap on cash flow, they don’t reduce the headaches of manual posting, and they certainly don’t give your business anything back for the privilege of holding your money.

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Where Traditional Lockboxes Fall Short

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Idle funds, no yield.
The money collected by most banks lands in a basic, non-interest-bearing account. That means your working capital just sits there until you move it. In an era where mid-market businesses are scrutinizing every dollar, leaving funds to stagnate feels like wasted opportunity.

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Data trapped in paper.
Many lockboxes still return remittance information as scanned PDFs. AR staff then spend hours reconciling checks against open invoices. Instead of reducing manual work, the lockbox just changes the format of the paperwork.

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Slow visibility.
Bank portals rarely provide real-time updates. By the time you know whether a check cleared, you’re already behind on reporting and forecasting.

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Limited access.
Transfers can be delayed or restricted, making it harder to put cash to work when you need it. For CFOs managing liquidity, those lost days add up quickly.

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These limitations aren’t minor inconveniences—they directly affect DSO, working capital efficiency, and your team’s ability to operate strategically.

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Why Yield Matters More Than Ever

Every check payment represents capital you can’t immediately use. Traditional lockboxes keep that capital locked away without benefit. But with Centime’s Lockbox, deposited checks immediately start earning 3.0% APY^†† inside Centime Checking Plus*.

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For a business receiving even $500,000 a month in checks, that’s thousands of dollars in additional annual yield—on money you already have. Instead of accepting lockboxes as a sunk cost, AR leaders can now turn them into a source of return.

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How Centime Reimagines the Lockbox

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Centime designed its lockbox around the real-world pain points AR teams face:

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Checks that earn while they wait. Every deposited check goes into a high-yield account earning 3.0% APY^††^.
Integrated remittance data. Download electronic remittance files and post directly into your AR system—no more manual matching or spreadsheet work.
Portal visibility. Track check status, deposits, and remittance from the same dashboard you use for AR automation.
Unlimited transfers. Move funds out at any time, with no restrictions or delays.
Fast, secure onboarding. Most teams are live within 7–21 days with full support.

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Instead of a black box where checks disappear until funds show up, AR teams get transparency, automation, and a tangible financial upside.

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The Shift from Cost Center to Profit Driver

Traditional lockboxes have always been a necessary evil: you pay fees to save a little time. Centime flips that equation on its head. By embedding yield and automation into the lockbox process, AR leaders finally have a tool that pays them back—literally.

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For CFOs, that means fewer excuses for idle capital. For AR teams, it means eliminating paper-bound bottlenecks. And for the business as a whole, it means turning one of the most outdated workflows in finance into a profit driver.

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Ready to see how a lockbox can finally work for you?

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Stop paying for outdated lockboxes—and start getting paid. [Book a demo] to see how Centime’s AR Lockbox turns check deposits into yield, efficiency, and growth.

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**Deposit placement through ICS is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures in the applicable agreements. Although deposits are placed in increments that do not exceed the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) at any one destination bank, a depositor’s balances at the institution that places deposits may exceed the SMDIA (e.g., before settlement for deposits or after settlement for withdrawals) or be uninsured (if the placing institution is not an insured bank). The depositor must make any necessary arrangements to protect such balances consistent with applicable law and must determine whether placement through ICS satisfies any restrictions on its deposits. A list identifying IntraFi network banks appears at https://www.intrafi.com/network-banks. The depositor may exclude banks from eligibility to receive its funds. IntraFi and ICS are registered service marks, and IntraFi Cash Service is a service mark, of IntraFi Network LLC.

^††3.0% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) as of 01/07/25. Deposit rate may adjust to current market rate and may change daily. Fees may reduce earnings.

*Centime is not a bank and is not authorized by any federal or state agency to engage directly in core banking activities.
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*All banking products and services available through Centime are provided by FNBO and are governed by the applicable agreements and related disclosures provided to you by FNBO. Member FDIC.
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‍*While Centime facilitates traditional banking activities (such as the acceptance of deposits or extensions of credit), these services are actually provided by our banking partner, FNBO.
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*Centime may provide support services to FNBO, as permitted by applicable law, to facilitate the delivery of its bank products and services.

**Deposit placement through ICS is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures in the applicable agreements. Although deposits are placed in increments that do not exceed the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) at any one destination bank, a depositor’s balances at the institution that places deposits may exceed the SMDIA (e.g., before settlement for deposits or after settlement for withdrawals) or be uninsured (if the placing institution is not an insured bank). The depositor must make any necessary arrangements to protect such balances consistent with applicable law and must determine whether placement through ICS satisfies any restrictions on its deposits. A list identifying IntraFi network bank

Why Traditional Lockboxes Miss the Mark (and How to Earn Yield Instead)

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