From social media and ridesharing to Amazon Prime, we know that today’s culture is increasingly “on-demand."  This culture has conveniences many of us enjoy, including the ability to immediately queue up a movie on Netflix or get groceries delivered with the click of a button. But, as those on-demand expectations spill into payments, it’s important that businesses (and governments) meet them for immediate payment of insurance claims, healthcare claims, government aid, tax refunds, gig economy workers and more.

Faster payments enable businesses to deposit funds in near real-time. This results in quicker access for consumers and improved cash-flow for businesses. They also:

• Offer a better customer experience. Using faster payments, businesses and governments can send funds to consumers in seconds. If a consumer needs funds quickly (for instance, following an accident or natural disaster), they can receive them in near real-time. Faster payments replace checks for a more efficient, secure option. They are also electronic, which research finds more than half of consumers prefer. 

• Increase efficiencies. The costs associated with traditional payment methods can add up, at $3.15 or more in business expenses incurred per check written. And wire options aren’t cheaper, as outgoing domestic wire transactions are an average of $25. But faster payments present an alternative — up to $3.3 billion could be saved with digital payments.

• Help to meet the demands of gig economy workers. Faster payments allow companies to respond to employee demands to be paid nearly immediately. This will become more important as the number of gig economy workers increases (there are currently as many as about 57 million). Research shows 73 percent of gig economy workers are willing to leave a marketplace if they are unsatisfied with its method of pay.

The right faster payments partner can empower businesses to disburse money in near real-time to nearly all U.S. debit or reloadable prepaid cards, enabling them to grow while increasing customer satisfaction.