InComm Payments and SKUx Launch Blockchain Aid Payments Platform

InComm Payments and SKUx announced Friday morning (Feb. 27) a strategic partnership to improve how digital payments are distributed for humanitarian aid and other applications for emerging markets. The announcement lands as disaster recovery funding faces tighter scrutiny, shifting more responsibility to state and local agencies.

The companies said they will pair InComm Payments’ retail distribution footprint with SKUx’s payment distribution platform. The goal is to let organizations send real-time, branded digital payments with tighter spending rules. Those rules can limit where a payment can be used and what it can buy, down to a specific product. The partners also said the system provides “blockchain-backed transparency,” which they describe as an auditable record of how funds are issued and redeemed. Beyond aid programs, the partnership also targets consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail promotions, where brands want a more measurable alternative to coupons and rebates.

“SKUx is honored to partner with a market leader like InComm Payments to accelerate our mission of item-level, blockchain payments,” said Bobby Tinsley, CEO and co-founder of SKUx.

The release said the joint offering will be powered by InComm’s network together with SKUx’s SKUPay retail network and point-of-sale integrations. Both firms are members of Payments as a Lifeline, a nonprofit focused on financial resilience. InComm said it brings three decades of experience and more than 525,000 retail and online distribution points, with operations in more than 40 countries. SKUx said its platform can deliver funds into mobile wallets and apply controls by merchant category, location and SKU, while providing real-time visibility into how funds are used.

The partners will deliver a joint keynote at Disasters Expo USA on March 4–5 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

SKUx has also linked its approach to disaster readiness and relief. In a November “Call to Action” paper, it backed the Disaster Resilience Financial Platform (DRFP), designed to deliver resources before, during and after disasters with clearer accountability. The paper cites an estimate of $162 billion in improper payments across federal programs in 2024 and promotes a national town hall and a 2026 “Get Stuff Done” campaign to select five DRFP pilot partners.