Gig Economy And The Insurance Service Gap

Real-time payments are growing more established in countries like the United States, as institutes like The Clearing House (TCH) update their payment infrastructures for the first time in more than three decades.

With new payment systems to work with, real-time payments are starting to filter into more industries and consumer practices. The music industry, for instance, is experimenting with instant payments for royalty disbursements. Meanwhile, an increasing host of retailers are turning to digital channels to disburse funds to customers, employees and the business itself.

In the latest Disbursements Tracker, PYMNTS examines the growth and adoption of instant payments around the world, as customer expectations for payment speed and efficiency continue to grow.

Around the Disbursements World

Both the Mastercard and Visa card networks have recently developed partnerships to facilitate faster disbursements, with Visa working with Western Union on remittance payments. Mastercard, meanwhile, has partnered with the P27 Nordic Payments Platform to bring real-time payments into that region.

Other companies are taking advantage of new technologies to offer faster payments for their clientele. In the music world, music rights administrator Revelator is experimenting with smart contract technology to improve the royalty payments process. Shareholders are able to access these payments instantly when their songs are played, which has the potential to change the way royalty payments are distributed within the industry.

To read more about these and other news items, download the Tracker.

Tailoring Insurance for Gig Workers’ Needs

Heightened consumer expectations for instant payments is butting against established, legacy practices. In the insurance space, policy changes and payments can take weeks to settle. That doesn’t square with the growing number of workers participating in the gig economy, whose payment needs are immediate.

With many major insurance providers still focused on the needs of big businesses, gig economy workers may face significant barriers as they struggle to find appropriate insurance. However, “micro policies” tailored to the individual freelancers’ needs may be a way to fix that, said Jay Bregman, CEO and co-founder of gig insurance provider, Verifly.

To learn more about how Verifly is approaching the insurance needs of the modern gig worker, visit the feature story.

Deep Dive: How Digital Payments are Changing the Ways Servers Receive Tips

Instant payments are impacting the way consumers approach other everyday actions as well, such as tipping. With more consumers than ever making card payments, cash-based tips are growing less convenient. That may be why restaurants and other service industries are experimenting with digital solutions for consumers to tip servers.

To learn more about how digital payments are changing tipping, visit the Tracker’s Deep Dive.

About the Tracker

The monthly PYMNTS Disbursements Tracker, powered by Ingo Money, is a go-to resource for staying up to date on the trends and changes in the digital disbursements space.