On-Demand Wages Spruce Up The $400B Home Services Market

From tax refunds and government assistance to payments made for home service and housekeeping professionals, faster payout solutions appear to be gaining popularity — all around the world. In the U.K., faster payout solutions could soon find a
home on the nation’s digital classified ad sites.

Around The World Of Disbursements

Visa recently partnered with Shieldpay to introduce secure card payments on peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms to the nation’s £120 billion ($151.1 billion USD) online classified marketplaces, enabling buyers and sellers to accept credit and debit cards. Shieldpay will also provide an “instant digital escrow solution” that can verify the identities of those involved in a transaction, and release funds when both sides are satisfied.

In addition to helping online marketplaces modernize, Visa is working with Ingo Money to help companies embrace push payments. The financial services firm recently launched Ingo Money QuickConnect, enabling companies to provide funds to customers, deploy Visa Direct more quickly and issue push-to-card payments. The solution, which has been used for lenders and gig economy companies, is also seeing interest from payroll providers and insurers.

The insurance industry could see new types of disbursements put to use in B2B payments as well. For example, State Farm is looking into a blockchain-based solution that could improve its insurance claims payment process, especially in cases of subrogation, where one insurance company settles a debt with another insurance company. State Farm said the solution could streamline the payment process, which often requires an adjustor, a customer support specialist and various other players.

The January 2019 edition of the Disbursements Tracker™ looks at the efforts by many such players that are rapidly changing the way payments are disbursed in several markets. This month’s Tracker also includes a Deep Dive outlining how gig workers manage changing seasons of temporary employment, and how the seasonal nature of their work affects how and when they receive disbursements.

On-Demand Wages: A Handy Option For Handyperson Pros

When homeowners need help with a project, like cleaning a room, mounting a television to a wall or fixing a faucet, they typically turn to home service professionals and housekeepers to do the job. However, these workers need more than tools and supplies — they also need fast access to their earnings so they can cover unexpected expenses and remain on sturdy financial footing.

For the January feature story, PYMNTS spoke with Oisin Hanrahan, CEO of professional services platform Handy, who explained how faster payouts empower home services professionals to take control of their financial lives.

About The Tracker

The PYMNTS Disbursements Tracker™, powered by Ingo Money, is the go-to resource for staying up to date on a month-by-month basis on the trends and changes in the digital disbursement space.