Using Digital Disbursements to Shake up the Legal World
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DECEMBER 2019 Using Digital Disbursements To Shake Up The Legal World – Page 6 (Feature Story) powered by Uber launches Uber Money mobile wallet for drivers’ earnings – Page 10 (News and Trends) The instant payment challenges facing legal disbursements – Page 15 (Deep Dive) ® Disbursements Tracker Table ofOf Contents Contents WHAT’S INSIDE A look at changes in the disbursements space as support for and use of instant payment rails expands 03 across the U.S. FEATURE STORY An interview with Joshua Browder, founder and CEO of robot lawyer app DoNotPay, on digital disbursements’ adoption 06 obstacles and why law firms still cling to checks NEWS AND TRENDS The latest disbursements headlines, including a MoneyGram and KyckGlobal partnership that will bring digital 10 disbursements to underbanked U.S. consumers and JPMorgan Chase’s virtual bank account service for gig payments DEEP DIVE An in-depth exploration of legal disbursements, including the requirements to which they must adhere and why the sector 15 struggles to offer instant payments PROVIDER DIRECTORY 21 A look at the top disbursements market companies, including two additions ABOUT 122 Information about PYMNTS and Ingo Money Acknowledgment The Disbursements Tracker® is done in collaboration with Ingo Money, and PYMNTS is grateful for the company’s support and insight. PYMNTS.com retains full editorial control over the following findings, methodology and data analysis. © 2019 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 2 What’s Inside United States consumers receive $4.6 trillion in payouts faster for millions of drivers. The company disbursements annually, but instant payments recently launched Uber Money, enabling real-time have yet to become the industry standard, even as deposits onto drivers’ company-branded debit checks fall out of favor. Consumers are becoming cards after each ride. The solution is an upgrade more aware of faster disbursement options, but not from Uber’s previous instant payment services and all companies are implementing them. This is divid- caters to freelance drivers who would benefit from ing those who would like instant payments and the timely, digital wage disbursements. businesses that provide them. Chinese technology company Tencent recently an- Forty-two percent of consumers surveyed in nounced that it is adding instant payments support, PYMNTS' Disbursements Satisfaction Report re- creating a real-time transfer feature for its WeChat ceived funds through instant payments — a high Pay mobile payment wallet, which allows users to figure compared to the 11 percent who said the send money using mobile phone numbers. The same just two years ago. That does not measure up service has thus far been rolled out on iOS and is to the 51 percent of respondents who would like to accessible through the WeChat messaging app. It receive instant disbursements but cannot, however. also enables payments to be sent between users who are not friends on the app, meaning business- Companies must also be aware that consumers es can use it to both send and receive funds from have their own ideas concerning instant payments customers. and how they should be made. The report found that more than one-third of surveyed consumers would Companies are also looking to boost disbursements’ like instant payments deposited directly into their speeds. FinTech Payouts Network is partnering with bank accounts, while others requested that funds payment provider Priority Commercial Payments be sent to their credit or debit cards. on a solution that provides instant payouts for both business and consumer clients. The companies are This payment preference expansion could prove currently focused on aiding restaurant employees tricky for companies, especially as consumers grow who often live paycheck to paycheck and could see less fond of checks. This does bode well for future their financial statuses benefit from faster payouts. instant payment adoption by businesses that have not yet implemented such technologies, however. For more on these stories and other disbursements headlines, read the Tracker’s News and Trends sec- Around the disbursements world tion (p. 10). Disbursements are quickly changing in the gig econ- omy, where rideshare firm Uber is looking to make © 2019 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 3 What's Inside Digital disbursements can speed up legal payments — but are they safe? Executive Insight Most industries are adopting digital disbursements, but some companies, such as law firms, still prefer How can mobile wallets support faster checks. Mobile apps like DoNotPay have emerged to disbursements? simplify claims and payments for both class-action “For companies looking to offer instant payments, and individual suits, though the legal space as a whole mobile is a critical consideration. Consumers de- still clings to legacy methods as a matter of security. mand the choice and flexibility of mobile-based This month’s Feature Story (p. 6) includes an interview transactions and payments because they align with Joshua Browder, CEO and founder of DoNotPay, with today’s smartphone lifestyle. This is unde- regarding digital disbursements’ relationship to the niable when you consider that mobile phone use changing legal system. has grown from 48.8 percent of the world’s popu- lation in 2014 to 63.4 percent in 2019, and that 29 Deep Dive: Why digital disbursements have not percent of U.S. consumers say they would like to yet permeated legal systems pay with their smartphones all the time. Instant payments and digital disbursements have Mobile wallets actually enhance instant pay- made headway in the government and retail sectors, ments platforms because beyond naturally but other areas have been slower to implement such supporting the speed and convenience of a methods. Consumers and businesses involved in legal solution, they also contribute technically to its cases may want payments to move much faster, but deployment. the complexities behind sending legal disbursements Mobile wallets inherently provide strong account are challenging to navigate. The November Tracker’s ownership verification controls that bolster risk Deep Dive (p. 15) examines why checks are still the management tools, making them safer and more disbursement method of choice for many law offices, reliable options for disbursements. Folding mo- what stalls related payment innovations and what can bile wallets into the mix enhances reliability and certainty at the same time, because they expand be done to move the field forward. available payment rails and enable redundancy. ® December Disbursements Tracker updates When you consider that one of the key differen- The December edition of Disbursements Tracker® tiators of any modern payments experience is includes profiles of more than 75 suppliers and provid- choice in funding and receiving accounts, then ers, including two additions: PayLane and Uber Money adding mobile wallet options to a disbursements marketplace is now table stakes.” DREW EDWARDS CEO of Ingo Money © 2019 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 4 What's Inside FIVE FAST FACTS Share of U.S. consumers who wish to receive instant disbursements for 37.4% transfers like tax refunds Estimated number of unbanked or underbanked individuals in 55m the U.S. Portion of consumers who are aware of instant disbursements 82% options Share of consumers who have received at least one instant 42% disbursement in 2019 Portion of loan payments that have been paid using mobile 24% wallets © 2019 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 5 Feature Story © 2019 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 6 Feature Story Using Digital Disbursements To Shake Up The Legal World Digital disbursements have become popular for Browder, are attempting to simplify their expe- retail rebates, refunds and similar payments, but riences. Browder explained in a recent interview other industries have approached them more with PYMNTS that the app allows consumers to cautiously. Retailers and other customer-facing file claims and suits against corporations like platforms adapted alongside the internet to of- CenturyLink, Comcast and Verizon, as well as ob- fer these payment innovations, but legal firms still tain digital disbursements from such companies. view many of these methods with trepidation. “We like to call it a robot lawyer,” Browder said. Legal disbursements are tricky, even for the “[DoNotPay] is a chatbot that actually speaks to simplest of payouts, because they need full verifi- consumers automatically, gets details from them, cation before going to potential claimants. Firms and uses all of those details to formulate a case thus need to verify amounts, claimants and cor- which is submitted either to the company or the porations involved before sending funds out — a government to get them the settlement money time-consuming process that irritates customers. [or] refund.” Consumers who are well-versed in digital trans- The company is expanding its in-app legal tools to actions may grow frustrated with such claims include settlements and will offer ACH payments experiences, especially given the legal process to all users by the end of January 2020, he added. questions they might have about filing and collect- ing claims in the first place. Digital disbursements have consumer ad- vantages, but compliance and data security Digital disbursements may not yet be fully viable challenges may disincentivize legal firms from for many firms, but the process has advocates. following DoNotPay’s lead. Breaches give con- Consumers are likely unfamiliar with legal sys- sumers pause when considering to share their tems and payment processes, but apps such as information, and legal firms look to create more DoNotPay, developed by founder and CEO Joshua © 2019 PYMNTS.com All Rights Reserved 7 Feature Story secure avenues for the user details kept on file banks. DoNotPay plans to offer in-app ACH trans- for claims. fers, too — something with which it is already experimenting. Fraud and security issues are causing firms to cling to checks This payments innovation comes only a few years after the company’s 2015 founding, when it offered The use cases for DoNotPay are relatively simple.