At PaymentWorks, we are passionate about secure vendor onboarding as the lynchpin of secure payments. When nearly three quarters of organizations have actual or attempted payments fraud scams aimed at them, we know that finding ways to gain peace of mind when it comes to avoiding these scams is keeping a lot of you up at night.
In the summer of 2021, while attending the Government Finance Officers Association of Arkansas meeting (in awesome Eureka Springs, check it out if you can!), the general counsel of the Arkansas Municipal League, John Wilkerson, gave a primer on acceptable expenditures for the American Rescue Plan Act Funds. And when he got to ‘Lost Revenue’ funds he mentioned cybersecurity. Forgive the bad humor, but while in Eureka I thought 'EUREKA!" This “once in a lifetime funding source” is the opportunity so many cities, towns, colleges, universities, counties and states have been pining for: the opportunity to advance their organizational use of technology to create efficiency, ensure compliance and yes, to secure their vendor payments!
I was excited when John Wilkerson graciously allowed me to interview him for our Risky Business podcast. Even more graciously, he then spent additional time researching the different rules for higher ed vs. government usage of the funds, and shared his knowledge during a webinar we co-hosted with E&I Cooperative. He walked our customers through all of the acceptable uses, how to calculate lost revenue, what to know about uniform guidance, and how ‘to stretch the rubber band’ to get those funds to work for you, and to move your organization forward.
Listen to a short clip on the usage of "Lost Revenue" funds.
If your institution or government has ARPA funds to spend, take 40 minutes to listen to John give this tutorial and you will be ready to make the case for technology investments related to your vendor onboarding, vendor management and vendor payments. (Or all three in one, like PaymentWorks. 😁)