When a business owes a consumer money, how that money gets delivered matters more than you might think.
In fact, PYMNTS Intelligence research found that 94% of consumers who were given a choice of instant payments and used instant most often reported being highly satisfied. Those consumers were also 17% more likely to be highly satisfied than those who didn’t have a choice and didn’t use instant.
That tells us something important about disbursements: Choice matters.
Whether it’s a refund, insurance claim, rebate, reimbursement, credit balance or settlement, a disbursement is another interaction between a business and a consumer. A modern disbursement strategy should give consumers convenient ways to receive their money while giving businesses the speed, security and control they need to manage payments at scale.
Disbursements show up in more places than you might think
Many industries issue significant volumes of consumer disbursements every day.
Insurance companies issue claims payments and premium refunds. Healthcare organizations return patient overpayments and credit balances. Mortgage servicers send escrow surplus and payoff refunds. Auto finance companies issue overpayment, GAP and payoff refunds.
In many of these situations, the organization knows exactly who needs to be paid and how much they’re owed. What it may not have is a stored payment method for that individual.
Historically, that’s one reason checks have worked so well for disbursements. You don’t need someone’s bank account or debit card information to mail them a check.
Today, businesses have more options and there’s an opportunity to use them thoughtfully rather than assume one disbursement method will work for everyone.
Choice should be at the center of the disbursement experience
It’s tempting to look at the evolution of disbursements as a simple shift from checks to digital payments. I don’t think that’s the right way to look at it. Consumers clearly value speed and convenience. At the same time, consumers haven’t stopped choosing checks. A recent Vericast paper check sentiment survey found that more than half of respondents chose to use a check even when digital alternatives were available.
Those findings show that the future of disbursements isn’t about choosing between digital and physical payments. It’s about giving consumers meaningful choice in how they receive their money and making each of those experiences work well. That requires innovation on both sides.
Whether the recipient selects a one-click digital disbursement or a printed check, businesses also have to be able to issue it through the same communication workflow it already uses such as in its customer communication management (CCM) platform rather than adding a separate process.
Make the digital option as easy as possible
When a consumer wants to receive money digitally, the experience should be simple.
Consider someone who is owed a healthcare refund or an insurance payment. The business may already have the person’s contact information and know exactly how much they’re owed, but it may not have their bank or card information.
A traditional digital experience can add unnecessary steps. The recipient gets a notification, navigates to a separate portal, finds or enters account information and then initiates the transaction.
New communication workflows use the data the business already has to send a personalized link or QR code incorporated directly into an email, text message or printed communication. The recipient can move directly from that communication to a secure, personalized landing page to choose how they want to receive the funds, including by card, bank account or digital wallet. This omnichannel communication experience is instant and seamless.
Make the check option better, too
For the consumer who prefers a check, businesses still need to get that payment produced accurately, securely and into the mail as quickly as possible. For organizations issuing thousands of refunds, claims and other disbursements, the technology behind that process makes a difference.
High-volume check printing has advanced considerably. Traditionally, producing a branded check meant starting with preprinted stock that already had elements such as a logo and security background in place. Want color? You had to preprint it. Want to change logos or templates? You needed different stock on hand.
Advances in high-volume check printing can get checks into the mail faster while giving businesses more flexibility to customize branding and incorporate the security features required for physical payments. Specialized MICR printing, production controls and tracking help support accurate, secure delivery without sacrificing efficiency.
The technology may operate behind the scenes, but the customer sees the result: a check that arrives promptly, accurately and with the branding and communication they recognize.
Don’t lose sight of security and control
Speed and convenience matter, but not at the expense of security and control.
For physical checks, that includes specialized MICR printing, security features and detailed tracking throughout production. At Nordis, each check can be tracked at the individual record level as it moves through insertion. If a piece fails, it can be identified, reprinted and accounted for before the job is complete.
Digital disbursements require their own safeguards around secure delivery, authentication and payment processing. ExpressoPay One-Click™, for example, conducts transactions in a secure, PCI-compliant payment environment.
The technology behind each channel is different, but the objective is the same: make sure the right amount of money gets to the right person through the method they choose.
For organizations in healthcare, insurance, financial services and other regulated industries, that level of control is essential.
Every disbursement is a customer interaction
Every time you send someone money, you’re creating another interaction with that consumer which is why businesses have to look at disbursements more strategically.
With a digital disbursement, the experience may begin with a text or email. Does the recipient recognize who it’s from? Do they understand why they’re receiving money? Is it clear what they need to do next?
With a physical check, the envelope and check itself become part of that interaction. How quickly it arrives, how professional it looks and whether it feels consistent with the organization’s other communications all contribute to the experience.
While different channels require different processes and technology, they should still work together within the same communication workflow using a CCM platform to reduce friction and ultimately, improve customer relationships.
Contact us to learn more about how to streamline your disbursement strategy.
