FARGO, N.D.: Bushel, a leader in digital payments and workflow solutions for agriculture, is expanding its platform with enhanced financial tools for farmers and agribusinesses. Farmers and agribusinesses will gain access to a Bushel business account*, offered by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. (“The Bancorp”), Member FDIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bancorp, Inc.

These business accounts will offer competitive interest rates, currently 3.43% as of Feb 26, 2025 and will be eligible to be FDIC-insured up to $5 million through sweep program banks.*

“When you consider the whole package, this continues to strengthen the business relationships between farmers and agribusinesses. When a farmer can immediately begin earning interest on their grain settlement, that’s meaningful to the bottom line. When a retailer can collect payments online with lower fees and ensure on-time payment, that is meaningful to the bottom line,” said Jake Joraanstad, CEO of Bushel.

Updated Bushel Farm experience

Starting this spring, Bushel Farm™ will include a digital wallet, providing an all-in-one platform to manage farm operations and finances. This integration simplifies both financial and operational management for farmers. Key features of Bushel Farm, including field-level rainfall data, activity tracking, profit and loss reporting, and more, will continue to be available. The additional financial tools that will be available to farmers include:

• Interest-bearing business account: These business accounts will offer competitive interest rates and FDIC-insurance up to $5 million through sweep program banks.
• Send and Request Payments: Farmers and agribusinesses can send and request payments directly through the platform, streamlining transactions.
• Access and Repay Lines of Credit: Farmers can easily manage lines of credit within Bushel Farm, ensuring seamless access to necessary funding.
• Future Features in 2025: Upcoming enhancements include high-limit mobile check deposits for grain settlement checks, online bill pay, and debit card access.

Access to capital for ag retailers and grain companies

These updates to Bushel’s payments management solutions present a strategic opportunity for agribusinesses, including grain elevators and ag retailers, to generate returns on operational float. By keeping funds in the upcoming business account offered by The Bancorp, businesses can earn competitive interest while maintaining liquidity for daily operations. These updates will also help them transition away from paper checks to a more secure form of payment.

The U.S. Postal Service has advised customers to increase diligence when mailing checks due to security concerns. Others are advocating for secure digital methods instead. Recently, the U.S. Treasury Department announced check fraud has increased 385% since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compounding this are mailing delays, specifically in rural areas. With the potential slowdown of mail delivery in these regions​, the reliance on mailing paper checks could lead to delayed payments, which can disrupt cash flow.

Learn more: For agribusinesses interested in Bushel’s payments management solution, visit bushelpowered.com/solutions/payments-management/.

About Bushel

Bushel is an independent software company based in Fargo, N.D. that provides an integrated workflow solution for agriculture. Bushel’s platform includes customer relationship management, customer and commercial portals, offer and hedge management, and farm management and advisement software. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Bushel Exchange, LLC, Bushel also provides digital payment solutions to its customers. These solutions improve operational efficiency, deliver crucial insights, and increase flexibility, enabling grain buyers, processors, ag retailers, ag lenders and farmers to adapt and expand their operations. Bushel now powers more than 3,500 grain and ag retail facilities, representing more than 50% of U.S. and Canadian grain origination. Over 100,000 farmers use Bushel's technology, making it one of the largest technology networks in U.S. agribusiness. Bushel also meets SOC 2 Type II standards, ensuring robust data security.

Bushel was recently awarded “AgTech Finance Platform of the Year” in the fifth annual AgTech Breakthrough Awards program conducted by AgTech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global agricultural and food technology markets today.

*Bushel is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking Services for the Bushel business account provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. FDIC insurance only covers the failure of an FDIC-insured bank. FDIC deposit insurance limit is $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC- insured bank, per ownership category through The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and its sweep program banks. See the Bushel website for more details.

Fonte: Business Wire