Ingo Money CEO: Real-Time Payments Puts Consumers Back in Control of Their Cash

In a tough economy, real-time payments can help put people and small business owners back in control of their cash, Ingo Money CEO Drew Edwards writes in the new PYMNTS eBook, “2023 Payments New Year’s Resolutions.”

Resolutions are notoriously short-lived because they’re often what we wish could happen versus what is likely within our grasp. With the world potentially barreling toward a global economic slowdown and industries retrenching in preparation, payments providers must be tuned in to the changing needs of their customers and their customers’ customers.

Consumers and small businesses alike will face challenges in the coming months as the cost of capital rises, its availability shrinks and a potential recession impacts revenues. Managing cash or capital will be the central focus for both in 2023, as businesses also seek to grow revenues in the face of headwinds.

One way to help put people and small business owners back in control of their cash is to deliver real-time payments. By shrinking the time between when someone is paid and when they can actually use their money, insurers, retailers and even the government empower their customers. For these companies and others, real-time payments are no longer an option — they must deliver them now to lock in existing customers and attract new ones.

This is especially true for growing use cases like digital tipping, earned wage access and SaaS-based business platforms that are incorporating digital payouts. As companies look to tighten their own purse strings, they will focus on the technology investments like payments that can help drive efficiencies, customer retention, revenue and loyalty.

The payments industry must resolve to lower the barriers and accelerate the adoption of digital real-time payments through simple, secure, scalable solutions for speed and choice in the way businesses expect.

First, choice is just as critical as speed in today’s reality of multiple accounts and wallets. Households and small businesses need the option to have instantly safe-to-spend funds sent to any account they choose. To deliver on this promise, providers must nurture and maintain multiple endpoints.

Second, more companies will seek a true partner rather than take on the heavy lift and investment of building their own solutions. The complexity and risk of payments means that off-the-shelf solutions or simple API integrations — while appealing at first blush — often prove frustrating over time.

The reality is that payments aren’t successful 100% of the time because there are so many elements in the process chain that can trigger a failure, often for good reason. When managing customer experiences, companies need a partner that is willing and capable of holding their hand day in and day out to optimize and resolve issues. That’s why we repeatedly hear from companies pulling their hair out because their payments provider sees this world as “just about technology” and is absent when support is critical.

As instant digital payments become a competitive differentiator for companies, the throughput, compliance and support capabilities of their payments partners all grow in importance. For 2023 and beyond, those providers that invest in these areas and serve as a true partner to their customers will stand apart from the crowd and move ahead in the race for market share.