Checks represent 29% of SME receivables

Controls are persistent. Businesses and governments continue to use them for payroll, a wide range of disbursements, benefits, tax payments, and payments for services rendered to microbusinesses.

Beyond that, 29% of payments small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) receive are still made by check, according to the “Money Mobility Playbook,” a PYMNTS and Ingo money collaboration.

Get the report: Money Mobility Handbook

Given this fact, FinTechs face a major challenge: enabling customers to use any number of payment methods – including checks – to transfer money to an unlimited number of endpoints. different.

Support for a range of payment methods

Things can get complicated fast, CEO of Ingo Money Drew Edwards said PYMNTS in an interview in March.

Read more: Beyond payments, FinTechs face a daunting challenge in managing large amounts of mobile money

Once customers have a taste of the payment methods on offer, it becomes a chain of add-ons that quickly ties together, Edwards said, adding that FinTechs often start thinking about the Automated Clearing House (ACH) and push towards the card, then quickly discover that they need to add PayPal, Venmo, RTP, cash payments, checks and more.

“It becomes, literally, an endless evolution,” Edwards said.

The ability to transfer money to checking accounts – from digital and non-digital sources – and from those accounts to any person or business – instantly and securely – is the new customer baseline.

This “monetary mobility” is fundamental to the future of the digital economy – and for any financial services player who wishes to remain relevant to an increasingly digital consumer.

Partnership with monetary mobility platforms

A money mobility network orchestrates a complex web of accounts, payment methods and third parties to streamline the flow of money for account holders, securely and at scale. It enables FinTechs and other financial service providers to create account utility and ubiquity by supporting instant access to streams to an account from any payment method, including check or cash. species.

A money mobility network also supports instant payments to anyone, including to accounts that a consumer has or may want to establish with other banks and non-bank entities.

Access to rich historical data on fraud and bad actors is fundamental to the role of any effective network, especially to enable instant access to check and cash deposits as well as instant digital transfers. Access to a deep data pool reduces the risk of fraud associated with supporting traditional and non-traditional payment methods, without the need to limit access to a small fraction of customers for fear of fraud.

For FinTechs to achieve parity with incumbent financial service providers, it requires alignment with a money mobility platform that delivers consumer-driven, risk-managed ubiquity: how money moves in and out of their accounts to anyone, from anyone, using any payment method.

By doing so, FinTechs can unlock new sources of value that they can use to create more loyal customers, as well as greater sales and profits.