Push Payments: Faster Payments For The Property Management Sector

Push Payments: Faster Payments For The Property Management Sector

January 30, 2024 by Ingo Payments

The property management sector thrives on a constant flurry of financial activity. Landlords employ and contract with a variety of vendors and suppliers to keep their property grounds maintained, the sinks and toilets unclogged, and everything running smoothly. Tenant turnover demands an endless to-do list of repainting rooms, removing scuff marks from floors, and cleaning carpets. And everyone, from plumbers and groundskeepers, to HVAC companies and movers, needs to get paid. That said, traditional vendor payments in property management are long overdue due for a digital makeover. Digital push payments for property management and services have already become a reality for thousands of companies., including platforms like AppFolio. And this is just the beginning. To stay on top of property management financial services, it’s imperative to understand push payments and how they might work for your business.  What Are Push Payments? So, let’s get started. To understand push payments, let’s first define what a traditional pull payment is. Pull payments are payments initiated by any payee where a company “pulls” requested funds from a payee’s account.  Pull payments can be an integral part of running a recurring payment system. Think monthly rent payments: with pull payments, your residents don’t need to remember to write a check each month, and you don’t need to remind them that rent is due.  Push payments do the same work, in reverse, allowing the payer to initiate the transfer of funds into a payee’s account and giving both parties more control over the payment process. Push payments are faster, allowing the payer to immediately transfer the funds to the recipient’s account. There are many types of push payments, depending on where the payment is going and the speed with which it is delivered—to bank accounts by debit card (called “push to debit”), by ACH and RTP transfer, the new FedNow and to digital wallets. The Trend Towards Real-Time Across Verticals The property market’s trend towards real-time push payments mirrors a wider marketplace change. Many markets are moving away from the slower rails and paper, especially for ad hoc payments. And the stage is set for an even wider embrace of instant payments. For example, studies show that when a push to debit instant payment option is offered, in comparison to a traditional payment method, people go for it. Across Ingo’s client base, push to debit payments currently account for between 40% to 70% of overall transactions where they are offered.  Even industries like trucking and movement logistics have seen a significant shift towards digital wallets and instant push payments. Their adoption of these instant payments has significantly streamlined complex interactions and financial management across their distributors, warehouses, carriers, brokers and beyond.  Additionally, the rise of the gig economy through apps like DoorDash and Uber has spurred key adoption of instant payments for freelance invoicing. This shift has helped numerous companies retain their best contractors and increased gig work satisfaction.  These are just a few examples. Broadly speaking, the world is trending toward fast, digital transactions with instant push payments at the forefront—in property management, related verticals, and beyond.  Specific Benefits Property Managers Push payments, like push to debit, has specific benefits for property management companies, especially in streamlining vendor payment capabilities. Before instant payments, a property manager had to juggle and keep track of multiple invoices, vendors, and check numbers. With push to debit, property managers can instantly pay vendors directly into debit accounts when work is done, decreasing delays and avoiding the “out of sight, out of mind” headache that comes with non-instant payments.  This speed is also useful in financial planning for property managers and vendors alike, because managers aren’t left wondering when a vendor will cash their checks, and vendors don’t have to worry about when the business will get around to sending it. Win-win. Beyond speed, push payments offer a reduced risk of fraud for property managers. Why? Because the payer initiates the transaction, and the payee does not have access to the payer’s bank account information. This compartmentalization reduces potential data breaches and keeps sensitive information more secure.  Push payments are also simply easier. They can be made anytime, anywhere. The process is straightforward and user-friendly for both sides. With just a few clicks on a mobile app, managers send money and vendors get paid.  Less Redundancy, More Reliability Digital connectivity for instant money transacting has always been relatively simple. An API is an API. But it’s the other pieces to the payments equation—from connecting sponsor banks and managing risk and fraud, to the ongoing management, optimization, enablement of low-cost routing, redundancy and ubiquity that are the real contributing factors to the overall complexity of payments—and differentiating factors with push payments.  As a business begins to operate and expand, transactions multiply. The availability of push payments in lieu of more traditional methods not only speeds up payments themselves but also reduces reliance on paper checks and the crisscrossing of invoices and approvals, or else the three-day wait for ACH transactions to settle. This alleviates cash flow issues and visibility for handymen, electricians, lawn care firms, regional suppliers and anyone else who previously had to deal with receipt tracking and reimbursements. Closing The Gap For Property Management Payments Significant progress has already been made in residents embracing digital channels (using their debit cards) to pay monthly rent. As individual consumers, we’ve grown familiar with peer-to-peer (P2P) payments through PayPal, CashApp and Venmo.  But property management can uniquely and substantially benefit from the adoption of push payments through the implementation of push to debit and beyond. Vendors in property management are coming to expect increased speed and choice in accessing their money, and push payments is a surefire way of making both happen with minimal headache.  The shift toward instant access to money via push payments will soon become standard and lead to new opportunities to embed payments even more fully into company workflows. Artificial intelligence (AI) might also be used to help automate the invoice-to-approval continuum. In other words, the future of push payments is bright.  With the adoption of the FedNow service and as other large corporations allow instant payments to take route within their own business practices, and as a new generation of renters and business owners come into their own, the desire for a variety of digital payments will become an expectation. So watch this space because the instant money push payments revolution is only beginning. Better Push Payments With Ingo Ready to institute push payments for your property management company? Ingo Money powers embedded payments at scale. Established in 2001, we provide instant payments, payouts, account funding, and digital issuing solutions for companies of all sizes, with risk management expertise and network reach to over 4.5 billion consumer accounts. Want to learn more? Contact us today!

Introducing Ingo Payments

January 12, 2024 by Drew Edwards

For over 22 years, Ingo Money Inc. has made money accessible, instant, digital, and secure for businesses and their customers.  We are proud of our long history and the experiences our teams have brought to the marketplace through true partnerships that have stood the test of time. There are new entrants to this space all the time, but it’s impossible to get 22 years of experience in a day less than 22 years. We have successfully served our clients through multiple economic cycles with a turnover rate of near zero.   As the concept of Money Mobility has evolved in the marketplace, our product lines have expanded, creating the need for the introduction of a new brand—one more targeted at banks and corporations seeking to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities brought about by modern digital money movement.  Today, I am delighted to introduce Ingo Payments. Our new brand builds upon the strong foundation of our Ingo Money brand and aims to better differentiate our offerings to businesses seeking diverse payment services.  Why Ingo Payments? We take immense pride in our rich history of providing check risk management, enterprise, and mobile check cashing services to our clients. Over the years, under the Ingo Money brand, we have successfully delivered these solutions to a wide range of banks and fintechs, solidifying our standing within the industry. This part of our business continues to enjoy double-digit growth rates as more consumers migrate their transactions to mobile first.  With the introduction of the new Ingo Payments brand, our goal is to further strengthen our ability to address the needs of a rapidly evolving digital market. Operating these two unique brands in harmony will enable us to communicate and distinguish our specialized services more effectively.   Two Brand Identities The Ingo Payments brand will house our embedded payment solutions—including digital disbursements, instant account funding, payment acceptance and upcoming banking-as-a-service offerings. You can explore these offerings here, on our new Ingo Payments website.  The Ingo Money brand will continue to reflect our check solutions, including our check risk management APIs, mobile check cashing SDK and the Ingo Money App.  Our Pledge to You  Whether you are a prospective or current partner or client of Ingo Money, Ingo Payments, or both, our team remains committed to providing you with the most innovative payment solutions coupled with our unparalleled service and support. Here’s to a future filled with new payments possibilities! 

Comparing RTP, FedNow and Push-to-Card

August 30, 2023 by Drew Edwards

Instant payments have become the de facto expectation for consumers and businesses alike. Brands that cannot deliver on the promise of real-time, safe-to-spend funds will quickly find themselves losing ground to the competition.  Companies in the United States seeking this new standard have a growing number of payment options to choose from, including Same-Day ACH, push-to-card, the RTP® Network, and – now – FedNow. It can be confusing to know which is best suited to your needs and what advantages one holds over the others.  At Ingo Payments, we believe in the power of instant payments and recipient choice. We support a wide array of options, many of which enable real-time delivery of funds to accounts or cards.  To help make sense of which real-time payment options might be best suited for your business, we’re breaking down the key differences between the RTP Network, FedNow and push-to-card.  The RTP Network Launched in 2017, the RTP Network is the latest payment network from The Clearing House (one of the key owners/operators of the ACH system). It delivers payments of up to $1,000,000 that settle in just seconds to bank accounts at participating institutions, 24x7x365. Consumers or businesses use the ABA/Routing number typically found at the bottom of a check or in their online banking experience as the alias for receiving money.   Most of the big banks and the larger regional banks participate in the RTP network, but it is not yet ubiquitous.  FedNow Launched in July 2023, FedNow is the Federal Reserve’s new instant payment service. Like with the RTP Network, it promises ‘always-on’ instant settlement and uses the same ABA/Routing number for an alias. Transaction amounts are capped at $500,000 per transaction but it still has limited reach with only 274 (mainly small) banks connected so far. It holds promise to extend instant payments to more financial institutions – including smaller, community banks – but a survey by Cornerstone Advisors found that less than half of banks and credit unions plan to offer real time payments by the end of this year.  Push-to-Card Push-to-card payments use the existing card networks’ payment rails, just in reverse. Funds can be sent directly to a bank account via an eligible cardholder’s debit card or prepaid card in near real-time. Push-to-card already has coverage for 98% or more of the accounts and cards in market today. Equally important, most consumers – especially younger ones – are comfortable using their card number as a payment alias. These are reliable payments that can reach any account on that card company’s network, making its reach to cardholders nearly universal. Like the RTP Network, the system is available 24x7x365, but with transaction amounts of up to $125,000.  Choosing an Instant Payment Option The Ingo platform enables seamless orchestration of payments across all relevant instant rails, including both the RTP Network and push-to-card, to provide our clients with flexibility when choosing payment options. Ingo also supports additional payment options such as PayPal, Venmo, ACH, and paper checks. In practice, much of this comes down to familiarity on behalf of the recipient. Consumers often don’t know the difference between the RTP Network, FedNow or push-to-card – they only know that they want their money in their account as fast as possible. Their preference is likely determined by whether it’s easier to enter a card number or a bank account number. For companies, that means it’s important to provide coverage across multiple options to ensure you’re meeting customer demand and expectations. In the case of Ingo Payments, we solicit destination account information from recipients then process the transaction using the fastest available rail, according to their preference. If that’s a bank account, then it depends whether the receiving bank is on an instant payment network. If it’s a debit card number, then it settles instantly. This is why neither the RTP Network nor FedNow serve as good standalone options for digital disbursements compared to push-to-card or traditional ACH today. Together, they only cover about 65% of available accounts, meaning that even combined they don’t provide the ubiquity needed for full adoption. They are better viewed as “plumbing” that can serve as accelerants to ACH because a payment can be diverted to an instant rail versus the ACH batch rail if it’s using the same alias. The Future of Instant Payment Rails Ultimately, we see both the RTP Network and FedNow as potential ACH killers because they can deliver instant funds without the recipient ever having to know about them or make an explicit choice of payment rail. There is also the potential for FedNow to complete the coverage begun by the RTP Network through its appeal and reach to smaller banks. If that happens, then all bank account transfers using the ABA/Routing number alias could convert to instant payments. Over time, the RTP Network and FedNow may also prove advantageous for business customers versus push-to-card. Oftentimes, large businesses do not have a debit card option and must rely on ABA/Routing number aliases. In that case, these two rails are an obvious preference over push-to-card. Further, any use case that requires invoice data or other information to travel with the payment is better suited to the RTP Network and FedNow because push-to-card does not have that capability. No matter your preference or which rail is best suited to your use case, the challenge is in integrating to them. There is no interoperability between the RTP Network and FedNow or between push-to-card and ABA/Routing number aliases. The burden is on the company to do multiple integrations and to build some form of routing and support capabilities. This is further complicated by the reality that the technology, risk management, regulations and support requirements are different for each payment rail. And on top of that, each involve coordination with card networks, wallets, international wallets and more. The task can be daunting. This is the heart of the Ingo Payments value proposition. We make the process seamless for clients by offering payment orchestration across all the relevant rails through a single API, to ultimately deliver on customers’ expectations for a modern payments experience. 

More from the Ingo blog

How Long After Disbursement Will I Get My Money?

How Long After Digital Disbursement Will I Get My Money?

March 26, 2024 By Ingo Payments

The breakneck pace of modern business has created a true need for swift and efficient funds disbursement. When every minute of every transaction counts to your customers, delays in accessing funds can impede handling financial obligations or operations. This is where digital disbursements come into play. Digital disbursements offer a fast and secure alternative to traditional paper check. But just how quickly can a company’s funds be accessed after a digital disbursement? Digital disbursements have emerged as a game-changer for companies looking to streamline their payment processes, decrease the cost of paper checks and increase the real-time mobility of their money. These electronic alternatives to sluggish, paper-based methods are on track to ubiquity. Why? Because digital disbursements prioritize speed, security, and convenience. Unlike the cumbersome process of waiting for a physical check to arrive in the mail, digital disbursements expedite the transfer of funds, ensuring recipients can access their money promptly. One of the primary advantages of digital disbursements revolves around choice: there are various electronic payment methods available, each with its own timeline for funds availability. Let’s delve into some of these methods and their respective timelines (and check out our article explaining the different types of digital disbursements here. Quick access to funds ACH Transfers: Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers are a tried-and-true staple in digital disbursements, offering a reliable and cost-effective way to transfer funds electronically. Money moves between bank accounts through the ACH network. ACH transfers can be used for various types of payments, including direct deposits, bill payments, business-to-business transactions, and person-to-person transfers. Typically, ACH transfers take 1-3 business days to process, providing recipients with relatively swift access to their funds. Wire Transfers: Wire transfers are electronic transfers of funds between banks or financial institutions. While they are usually faster than ACH transfers, they may still take a few hours to complete, especially for international transfers. Instant Access to Funds Push-to-card: Push-to-card refers to the process of electronically transferring funds directly onto a prepaid or to a bank account via a debit card associated with the recipient. Funds are pushed from the sender’s account or payment platform directly onto the recipient’s card, typically using the card network’s infrastructure. Recipients can then access the funds immediately for purchases, withdrawals, or other transactions. Digital Wallets: Platforms such as PayPal and Venmo enable instant transfers, with recipients often able to access their funds within minutes of the disbursement being initiated. Real-Time Payments (RTP) & FedNow: These modern payment systems enable instantaneous transfers between participating financial institutions. RTP transactions are processed instantly, with funds transferred directly between the sender’s and recipient’s accounts in real-time. Recipients can access the funds immediately upon receipt, making it suitable for time-sensitive transactions. Digital Disbursements: Fast, Secure Money Mobility To run effectively, businesses with a need to provide customers access to funds need to carefully consider the optimal method for their disbursements. They must weigh factors such as speed, cost, and convenience. While traditional paper checks may still have their place in certain types of transactions, the advantages of digital disbursements are undeniable, especially in terms of their speed. By embracing electronic payment methods, businesses can streamline their operations, enhance cash flow, and deliver a superior experience for recipients. They can cut the arrival time for a customer’s funds down from waiting a week for a check in the mail, to just one to three days with ACH. Or they can join the instant payments revolution and give their clients instant access to the funds they need through push to card, digital wallets, RTP and FedNow. While the timeline for accessing funds after a digital disbursement varies depending on the chosen payment method, there’s no doubt that going digital speeds up the timeline for customers interested in accessing their money. At any rate, by leveraging the efficiency of digital disbursements, businesses can position themselves for success in today’s fast-paced business landscape and get money into their customer’s pockets quicker and more efficiently.
What is an example of a digital disbursement?

Demystifying Disbursements: What is an Example of a Digital Disbursement?

March 13, 2024 By Ingo Payments

We’ve already defined what a digital disbursement is, and how they play a crucial role in facilitating seamless transactions and empowering businesses to manage their finances efficiently. But how does a digital disbursement work, and what is a clear example of one? Understanding Disbursements: A Refresher First, a quick refresher: a digital disbursement is an online financial transaction that involves the quick and secure distribution or payout of funds from one party to another. This can take many forms—salary payments, vendor payments, refunds, or any other outgoing funds disbursed by an organization and orchestrated electronically. Essentially, disbursements encompass the movement of money from a source to single or multi-party recipients, making them a fundamental aspect of financial operations. Digital disbursements are those that take place in an online space, for example, without the use of a paper check. Examples of a Disbursement: Consider a scenario where a large ecommerce platform needs to disburse payments to its network of sellers. These disbursements may include the revenue generated from product sales, refunds, or even incentives for high-performing sellers. In this case, the ecommerce platform acts as the disburser, while individual sellers represent the recipients of the disbursed funds. To execute this process seamlessly, a payment orchestrator comes into play. The payment orchestrator streamlines and automates the disbursement process, ensuring that funds are transferred accurately and promptly. It integrates with various financial institutions, payment gateways, and other relevant systems to orchestrate a smooth flow of funds from the ecommerce platform to the sellers. Digital Disbursements in Action Let’s delve deeper: here’s another real-world example of a digital disbursement. Imagine an online marketplace processing vendor payments digitally. Upon the completion of a successful sale, the marketplace triggers an automated disbursement process through its integrated payment orchestrator. Again, we move to a payment orchestrator, which validates the transaction details, ensuring accuracy and compliance. Subsequently, the payment orchestrator communicates with the seller’s bank via secure APIs, initiating a direct fund transfer to the seller’s account. This digital disbursement not only minimizes the processing time but also provides a transparent audit trail. This entire workflow showcases how technology-driven digital disbursements streamline financial operations, offering just a quick glimpse into the streamlined efficiency of modern digital financial transactions. Benefits of Automated Digital Disbursements Those examples of digital disbursements may have helped you get a feel for the types of transactions and companies they may benefit. But why should a business consider moving toward a digital disbursement system for payouts? Here are just some of the benefits of going digital with disbursements. Efficiency: Automation reduces manual intervention, minimizing the risk of errors and enhancing the overall efficiency of the disbursement process. Speed: Automated disbursements enable swift fund transfers, allowing businesses to meet their financial obligations in a timely manner. Accuracy: By leveraging technology, payment orchestrators ensure that disbursed amounts are accurate, avoiding discrepancies that may arise through manual processing. Cost-effectiveness: Automation not only saves time but also reduces operational costs associated with manual disbursement processes. Given the immense benefits, digital disbursements facilitate the movement of funds in various sectors. As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation, understanding and optimizing disbursement workflows become essential for fostering financial agility and success.
How are disbursements paid?

How are Digital Disbursements Paid?

March 7, 2024 By Ingo Payments

In the digital landscape of modern FinTech, the term “digital disbursements” often takes center stage. But how are digital disbursements paid? How have they been paid in the past, and how have disbursements changed to reflect today’s instant, digital landscape? Let’s demystify digital disbursements, exploring the intricacies of payment orchestration and shedding light on the processes that drive seamless transactions. Understanding Digital Disbursements Digital disbursements refer to the distribution of funds from a central source to various recipients through the use of electronic means?? Need to find definition for a digital disbursement. This can take many forms, including salary payments, vendor payouts, rebates, and more. The key lies in executing these transactions efficiently, securely, and in a way that aligns with the diverse needs of businesses and individuals. The Role of Payment Orchestrators Enter the realm of payment orchestrators— the unsung heroes of digital disbursement payouts. Payment orchestrators streamline the disbursement process, acting as conductors for the symphony of financial transactions that take place behind the scenes. A payment orchestrator leverages cutting-edge technology and advanced algorithms to ensure that funds flow seamlessly from one entity to another—all the way from the payment originator to the payee. Breaking Down the Process Initiation: The digital disbursement journey begins with the initiation of a payment request. This could originate from businesses and corporations, payroll systems, ecommerce platforms, or any other source requiring funds distribution. The payment orchestrator receives these requests and prepares to orchestrate the transaction. Validation and Compliance: Before funds are released, payment orchestrators conduct rigorous validation and compliance checks. This ensures that the digital transaction meets strict regulatory standards, minimizing the risk of fraud and ensuring that the funds reach the intended recipients without hiccups. Routing: Once validated, the orchestrator determines the optimal route for the funds. This involves selecting the most efficient payment channels through partnerships, considering factors such as cost, speed, and reliability. Execution: The actual disbursement occurs at this stage. Payment orchestrators communicate with financial institutions, payment processors, and other relevant entities to transfer funds accurately and securely. This step often involves real-time tracking and reporting to provide transparency to all stakeholders. Reconciliation: Post-execution, reconciliation ensures that the books are balanced. Payment orchestrators reconcile transaction data, verifying that the funds have been successfully transferred and updating the relevant records. Benefits of Payment Orchestrators in Disbursements Efficiency: Payment orchestrators automate and streamline the disbursement process, reducing manual intervention and the likelihood of errors. This efficiency translates into quicker transactions and improves overall financial operations. Security: Robust security measures, including encryption and compliance checks, safeguard disbursements from potential threats. Payment orchestrators prioritize the protection of sensitive financial information. Flexibility: Businesses have diverse disbursement needs, and payment orchestrators offer flexibility by supporting various payment methods, currencies, and channels. This adaptability caters to the unique requirements of different industries. Paying Disbursements Digitally: A Whole New World Digital disbursements may seem complex, but with payment orchestrators at the helm, the process of paying a disbursement becomes a harmonious flow of financial transactions. By understanding how digital disbursements are paid and appreciating the role of payment orchestrators, such as Ingo Payments, in the overall process, businesses can unlock the full potential of seamless and secure fund distribution in the ever-evolving FinTech landscape.
Exploring the Diversity of FinTech Payments

How Many Types of Digital Disbursements Are There? Exploring the Diversity of FinTech Payments

February 28, 2024 By Ingo Payments

Innovation and evolution are the hallmarks of the Financial Technology industry, especially as it is related to payments. The concept of digital disbursements plays a pivotal role in shaping and reshaping the landscape of payments. Digital Disbursements refer to the electronic distribution of funds. In the FinTech space. there are several types of digital disbursements, each serving unique purposes in the world of financial transactions: What are different types of digital disbursements? Fast Disbursements: ACH (Automated Clearing House) Transfers: ACH transfers are electronic transactions that facilitate the movement of funds between bank accounts. This method is commonly used for payroll, vendor payments, and various other financial transactions. Its efficiency lies in the automation of fund transfers, reducing the processing time and minimizing the risk of errors associated with manual transactions. Wire Transfers: Wire transfers provide a rapid and secure way to transfer funds domestically and internationally. This method is favored for high-value transactions due to its speed and reliability. Wire transfers are crucial for businesses engaged in global trade, ensuring swift and seamless cross-border transactions. Instant Disbursements: Prepaid Cards: Prepaid cards are reloadable financial instruments that can be used for disbursements such as employee benefits, incentives, or even disaster relief funds. These cards offer flexibility and convenience, allowing recipients to access funds through ATMs or make purchases at various merchants. Push-to-card: push-to-card disbursements directly transfer funds to recipients’ debit card. Offering unparalleled speed, reduced friction, and cost-effectiveness, push-to-card disbursements are ideal for gig economy payments, insurance claims, and government benefits distribution. Known for their efficiency, they provide a swift and secure solution for individuals and businesses to access their funds promptly. Mobile Wallets: The rise of mobile technology has given birth to mobile wallets, which serve as digital alternatives to traditional payment methods. Disbursements through mobile wallets offer instant accessibility and can be particularly beneficial in reaching underbanked or unbanked populations, providing financial inclusion. Key Characteristics of Digital Disbursements: Electronic Delivery: Digital disbursements primarily involve the electronic delivery of funds, eliminating the need for traditional paper-based methods. This electronic approach contributes to efficiency, speed, and cost-effectiveness. Real-time Transactions: One of the notable features of digital disbursements is the ability to conduct real-time transactions. This instant processing of funds ensures quick access for recipients, offering a level of convenience that traditional methods struggle to match. Integration with Mobile Technology: Digital disbursements often integrate seamlessly with mobile technology, allowing users to receive and manage funds through mobile applications. This is particularly advantageous in regions with a high prevalence of smartphones, promoting financial inclusion. Enhanced Security Measures: Security is a paramount concern in financial transactions. Digital disbursements typically come equipped with advanced security measures such as encryption and multi-factor authentication, safeguarding the transfer of sensitive financial information. Digital Disbursements Are Here to Stay The underlying technologies and methods used in digital disbursements represent a paradigm shift in the world of financial transactions. Businesses and individuals alike can leverage digital disbursement solutions to enhance financial agility, reduce processing times, and embrace a more secure and accessible future in the realm of FinTech payments. Understanding the diverse landscape of digital disbursements in FinTech payments is crucial for businesses aiming to optimize their financial operations. Each type comes with its own unique advantages, allowing organizations to tailor their disbursement strategies to meet specific needs and challenges in an ever-evolving financial ecosystem. As FinTech continues to push boundaries, the future promises even more innovative disbursement solutions, further revolutionizing the way we transact and distribute funds.
What Type of Transaction is a Digital Disbursement?

What Type of Transaction is a Digital Disbursement?

February 22, 2024 By Ingo Payments

The Digital Disbursement Landscape: A Story of Now  In an era where consumer-business relationships are increasingly digital, the flow of funds is evolving beyond traditional channels and entering a new era. Businesses often find themselves in situations where they need to issue payouts (aka “disbursements”) to customers for rebates, refunds, account overpayments, and claims payouts, but don’t know what’s out there in terms of how.   As the world embraces digital solutions, the payout landscape undergoes a transformation, challenging the traditional reliance on paper checks and old school payment methodologies.  Enter: digital disbursements, the new generation of payment technology—which insures instant, safe digital access to money in both B2B and B2C transactions. So, what exactly is a digital disbursement, and why is it crucial in the current landscape of payments and digital financial transactions?  Digital disbursements represent a forward-thinking alternative to paper checks in payout processes. Customers have become increasingly accustomed to making payments on mobile devices.   So, the question arises: Why not deliver digital payouts directly to bank accounts, credit unions, or debit cards? A smart business is one that recognizes the shift towards digitalization, particularly accelerated by the global pandemic, and offers a user-friendly solution for businesses navigating this change.  Defining Digital Disbursements   A digital disbursement refers to the electronic distribution of funds, typically from a business or organization to individuals or other entities.   This transaction type is prevalent and applicable in a variety of sectors, from insurance and payroll to government payments. Digital disbursements leverage advanced solutions to ensure that funds are seamlessly and securely distributed, enhancing overall business operations in the digital age.  So, if you need to enable digital disbursements for your business, how do you go about getting started? An important consideration for understanding digital disbursements is finding a solution that is both robust and reliable. A legitimate digital disbursement will include several defining characteristics.    Key Characteristics of Digital Disbursements:  Utilizing Existing Payment Rails: Digital disbursements leverage existing payment “rails” to deliver faster payouts. Popular alternatives to paper checks include ACH network transfers, PayPal, Zelle®, and push-to-card options like Mastercard and Visa Direct.  Accelerating Payouts for Customer Satisfaction: Customers want quick access to owed funds, especially in urgent situations like insurance claims payouts. The 2022 Disbursements Satisfaction Report highlights that 67% of consumers prefer senders offering instant disbursements. Digital disbursements minimize the lag time associated with paper checks, ensuring faster payouts and enhancing customer experience.  Offering expert Assistance for Seamless Transition: Transitioning from paper checks to digital disbursements may seem daunting, but less so when you’ve got an all-star implementation and customer support team on your side. Established providers understand the intricacies of disbursement services. They help businesses navigate the transition efficiently while prioritizing technology, workflow, and security/compliance considerations every step of the way.   Digital Disbursements Aren’t Going Anywhere  Digital disbursements are an exciting new technology that is changing the way we do business. Their rise has been quick, and they’re positioned to replace paper checks and old-school payouts as the preferred method for customer payouts in a matter of months and years. Businesses that invest in this technology, like the comprehensive solutions offered by Ingo Payments, can streamline and expedite this transition, delivering an enhanced experience to customers in the fastest possible time.   As the digital landscape continues to evolve, understanding and adapting to digital disbursements will ensure long-term success and customer satisfaction for businesses. Understanding what digital disbursements are is the first step towards digital payments literacy and future-proofing your business.

Payments Orchestration in the Era of Money Mobility

February 20, 2024 By Lisa McFarland

At Ingo, we care about payments orchestration. And that’s no surprise, considering orchestration is both a vital aspect of the payments landscape, and one that’s often overlooked. But what is payments orchestration, and why does it matter? At it’s most simple: payments orchestration involves the management and coordination of all the disparate parts of a payment—from start to finish, across external vendors, internal systems and financial institutions. Traditionally, this payments orchestration has referred to merchant acquisition or an inbound consumer payment and covers payment authorization, transaction routing and settlement. But the rise in popularity of increased money mobility and instant access, as well as an ever-evolving digital fraud landscape, has dramatically changed the dynamics of payments orchestration. The expectation that money can flow seamlessly into and out of any account a consumer chooses, instantly and safely, now requires payment orchestrators to manage both inbound and outbound money transfers. This is a level of orchestration that few third-party providers can reach and that fewer still have achieved successfully and at scale. Payments Orchestration 101 Payments orchestration is influenced by many factors and varying perspectives. It’s. more than a simple payments process—its function varies widely depending on the company, its industry, and the complexity of its payment operations. At its core, a payment relies on a processor to deliver funds to an account number. As the originator, a company issues a directive to “pay this account” and the processor obliges. But it would be wrong to assume that an organization can simply contract with a processor like Stripe and begin issuing payments. The value of a well thought-out payment orchestration system quickly becomes apparent when chargebacks start and losses mount—with poor visibility into what’s going on, and poor organization to keep everything running smoothly. This is because a processor does not handle all the many ancillary (yet vital) operations that go into making a payment. The processor does not confirm if an account number is valid and active, that an account is owned by the intended party, or that the account in question has been screened for sanctions. Nor do they tokenize the account for future payments, creating a redundancy in the system which can cause slower payments. These orchestration functions are normally performed by separate vendors or partners that are managed by the payments’ orchestrator. In the past, many companies have served as their own payments orchestrators. But rising complexity and the demands of money mobility are making this ever more challenging, as we have articulated. So, with mounting complexity and poor internal mechanism in place, what does a business do to ensure smooth payment orchestration at every step of the process? Well, that’s where we come in. Ingo Payments is the only external payments orchestrator handling both inbound and outbound money flows. Payments Orchestration for Money Mobility As the pioneer in push payments and the leader in money mobility solutions, Ingo Payments is practiced at the art of payments orchestration. Through a single API integration, we can handle every component of a payment on a client’s behalf and configure these services to meet a client’s business and digital workflow processes and desired customer experience. From the moment a company supplies payment instructions, we go to work. The Ingo system first verifies the account is valid, in good standing and passes account verification screenings. We then report back on this status and, if valid, tokenize the account so companies can send future payments without having to store personally identifiable customer account information, relieving them of PCI-level security burdens. Once the sender issues an actual payment process request using the token information and transaction amount, Ingo initiates all the required regulatory screening. These include all relevant anti-money laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) requirements to ensure recipients are not subject to sanctions or other concerns. If the recipient account clears all the checks, Ingo then issues the payment. If there is a hit on the screening, the platform escalates the concern to the Ingo Risk Center for further review. Ingo Payments also offers clients a unique guarantee against losses. Our add-on transaction risk underwriting and transaction guarantee services allow clients to breathe easy knowing they will enjoy exceptionally high approval rates without being on the hook for fraudulent payments or other risk-related issues. Saving Time and Money with Ingo Payments Ingo Payment’s end-to-end payments orchestration capability means clients can “fire and forget it.” We handle every facet of a payment in an in-line flow. Our platform can plug into external vendors, and even be customized to allow certain functions to be handled in-house (or by another trusted partner if preferred). Without Ingo, clients would have to either integrate separately to different vendors for account verification, sanctions screening, tokenization, processing and more, or integrate to a processor that might offer some of these third-party services. In both cases, a client would still need to build its own payments orchestration system and processes. This DIY approach means more vendors and agreements, more technical integration, more complex technical development, and, ultimately, more incremental expense. With Ingo, clients get the advantage of a simplified integration with third-party services configured and managed synchronously by Ingo behind a reduced API call set, significantly reducing development complexity. Our clients also benefit from the halo effect of our cumulative volume and pricing, as well as the redundancy necessary to protect against downtime due to third-party vendor technical issues and outages. Ultimately, the need for payments orchestration is taking on greater urgency and complexity in the era of Money Mobility. Ingo Money stands alone as a trusted, proven orchestration partner that can deliver on the promises of seamlessness and security at scale, providing companies with time and cost savings and—perhaps more importantly—total peace of mind.