Payments technology firm ACI Worldwide is teaming with embedded banking/money mobility provider Ingo Payments.
The collaboration, announced Tuesday (March 18), has resulted in ACI Speedpay Digital Disbursements, a solution designed to help businesses scale their disbursement operations.
According to a news release, the tool is also aimed at addressing a disconnect between businesses and consumers: Many businesses still use paper checks to disburse funds, while most consumers would rather make digital transactions.
“Digital payment accelerates disbursements, ensuring that consumers receive funds swiftly, especially during times of financial need,” the release said. “For example, timely and efficient insurance claim payouts after a natural disaster provide financial reprieve, reduce stress and strengthen customer loyalty.”
With ACI Speedpay Digital Disbursements, businesses can offer multiple payout options, including real-time payments, PayPal/Venmo, signature debit and ACH. The tool also lets companies streamline reporting and reconciliation by eliminating the delays associated with check deposits, thus reducing administrative overhead and boosting cash flow efficiency.
“At ACI Speedpay, we like to say – life is hard enough, let’s make bill pay easy – the same can be said for disbursements, where consumers need their money fast and sent via their preferred payment type,” said Ron Shultz, general manager of ACI Speedpay. “Our partnership with Ingo Payments enables ACI’s biller clients to offer numerous digital disbursement options to their consumers, serving to enhance the overall customer experience.”
Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown the dangers businesses face by holding onto paper checks, a “glaring weak spot in America’s payment system” which nonetheless still account for nearly 40% of all B2B payments. And 70% of businesses that use checks say they have no plans to switch to other methods, at least not in the next two years.
While many companies view checks as low-cost or “free,” manual processing creates hidden expenses. Adding to those costs are time, labor and delayed payment cycles, all of them amplifying the financial burden on businesses.
“The cost? A jaw-dropping $24 billion in estimated losses from check fraud in 2023 — double what it was just five years ago,” PYMNTS wrote last month.
Meanwhile, PYMNTS Intelligence collaborated with Ingo Payments on the recent report “How Faster-Payments Providers Are Reducing Fraud Risks,” which shows that a growing percentage of financial institutions (FIs) are under attack from fraudsters.
The research showed the share of FIs experiencing increased fraud-related dollar losses climbed from 29% to 40% year over year in 2024.
“These attacks are varied, because the fraudsters are nimble and resourceful,” PYMNTS wrote. “The attacks range from simple scams to sophisticated deep fakes or waves of botnets.”
