The Issuers Report 2023: FinTechs’ Instant Payments Mismatch

“From Fast to Sticky: Why Instant Payouts Win Repeat Customers,” a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and Ingo Payments, reveals how the speed and affordability of payouts are reshaping customer loyalty. Drawing on a survey of more than 4,000 U.S. adults, including over 2,200 disbursement recipients, the report shows that getting paid instantly is no longer a convenience but an expectation that keeps users coming back. When recipients experience the ease and reliability of instant payouts, they overwhelmingly continue to use the payment method. Nearly six in 10 recipients who try instant once make it their preferred way to receive funds, and for those who depend on disbursements as core income, that number climbs even higher. The findings highlight an important truth for banks, FinTechs, lenders and gig platforms. Instant isn’t just about speed. It is about trust, control and financial peace of mind. Consumers value the ability to see money land immediately, and when that experience is both fast and fee-free, it creates a habit that endures. For businesses, the lesson is clear: Instant payouts can transform short-term transactions into lasting relationships that strengthen brand loyalty. In “From Fast to Sticky: Why Instant Payouts Win Repeat Customers,” learn how: Reliability builds trust. Instant access removes uncertainty and builds confidence, particularly for gig workers and contractors who manage their daily cash flow. Pricing shapes loyalty. Even small fees can weaken the appeal of instant access, while free payouts strengthen engagement across all income groups. Behavior reinforces adoption. Recipients who use instant payouts for one purpose, such as wages or loans, are far more likely to prefer instant for other payouts, reinforcing the habit over time.

he nature of work, and of getting paid, is changing. The familiar two-week pay cycle is giving way to a real-time labor economy where people get paid when they earn, sometimes several times a day. PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster said we’re witnessing the rise of the transactional worker who lives in an on-demand world where payouts are the new paychecks. Joint research by PYMNTS and Ingo Payments shows that 1 in 3 millennials now rely on gig or tip income as their primary source of earnings, while nearly half of Gen Z consumers earn core income from selling products or services online. Those numbers, said Ingo CEO Drew Edwards as part of the series titled “The New Workforce Economy,” redefine what “employment” means. “The moment they get their money after today’s job is the pivotal moment,” he told Webster. The Instant-Pay Expectation The traditional pay cycle no longer fits the realities of modern financial life. “Getting paid in real time isn’t a nice-to-have,” Webster said. “It’s the difference between filling your tank or paying your rent on time.” According to PYMNTS Intelligence data, the use of instant payments for income has surged from 15% in 2020 to about 45% in May 2025. Forty-one percent of workers now receive funds instantly most of the time. Edwards said this shift is about necessity and control, not hardship. “It’s not because they’re poor,” he said. “It’s because they’re managing a business — their personal business — and doing real-time financial management.” Workers now align their income directly with their obligations. “They’ll say, ‘I’m working today to pay my rent,’” Edwards said, or to earn funds to pay for someone’s birthday gift. “They can tell you what job relates to what bill. That’s empowering.” The emotional impact of immediacy is just as important. “Payday still triggers that dopamine,” Edwards added. Now it happens whenever one wants, and not twice a month. That sense of control and immediacy is important. The Rise of the Transactional Worker This workforce isn’t unstable, said Edwards, and indeed there’s a measure of strength in not waiting for someone in a corporate office to decide whether they still have a job. He pointed to his son-in-law, a freelancer who once worked for large firms but now manages multiple clients. “He has unlimited gigs,” Edwards said. He never worries about being laid off — only about how to line up the next week’s work. That flexibility creates new expectations: workers now assume that the payout — their paycheck — should arrive instantly. And many are willing to pay for it. Paying for Speed and Building the Ecosystem PYMNTS and Ingo research shows that 60% of those who rely on gig or tip income as their main paycheck are willing to pay a fee for instant access — four times higher than those who use gig income as a side hustle. The model is not without its critics. “Every time you bring up charging someone for money they’ve earned, people call it predatory,” Edwards said. “But pay for speed has always been part of the economy. You can have it tomorrow for free, or right now for a small fee — that’s choice, not coercion.” He compared it to ATMs or expedited bill payments. We’ve always paid for speed, he said, and as long as the fees are fair and disclosed, it’s a good thing. Behind the scenes, that choice is enabled by increasingly connected payment systems. “We don’t just have one account anymore,” Edwards said. “We have a wallet full of accounts — one for saving, one for investing, one for spending. The same is true for transactional workers.” That fragmentation is giving rise to what Edwards calls “transactional ecosystems.” FinTechs like Ingo and forward-thinking banks are building infrastructure, integrating instant rails, ledgers and compliance tools, that allow workers to choose where and how fast they get paid. This benefits banks too, Webster and Edwards agreed, because it builds deposits, loyalty and relationships around speed. Still, Edwards said the industry is only at the beginning. “We’re in the second inning of this process,” he said. The magic will come as we turn that daily payout into the center of a new financial ecosystem — one built around the worker’s “dopamine moment” of getting paid.

They stock shelves, serve meals and keep the lights on, but their take-home paychecks shape more than their household budgets. The new Wage to Wallet™ Index, a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence, WorkWhile and Ingo Payments, reveals how 60 million U.S. workers move $1.7 trillion through the economy each year and details how even minor delays to their pay can ripple into inflation, reduced demand and blunted growth. The stakes for U.S. resilience may be higher than anyone realizes. Inside the October Index The 60 million U.S. workers who earn under $50,000 annually fuel more than $1.7 trillion in consumer spending each year—making their financial stability a key driver of national growth. With savings 40% below the national average, even short pay delays or missed shifts can dampen household confidence and reduce overall demand. More than half of Labor Economy workers choose instant wage access when available, improving liquidity and reducing reliance on costly credit.