According to PYMNTS.com, the line between payments and platforms is blurring dramatically. Nearly two-thirds of businesses (65%) are highly interested in using in-network accounts or cards for payouts like payroll and vendor invoices. For platform-based businesses, that number jumps to an eye-opening 87% who want to pay gig workers directly through their own financial rails. Meanwhile, 75% of merchants and marketplaces want to pay suppliers in-house rather than through third-party accounts. This represents a fundamental shift toward controlling payments rather than just processing them. The data comes from PYMNTS Intelligence in collaboration with Ingo Payments.
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<h2 id="why-keep-money-in-house”>Why everyone wants to keep money in-house
Here’s the thing: when companies send money to external bank accounts, they lose everything. The data about how that money gets used disappears. Cross-selling opportunities vanish. And they completely lose control over what happens to those funds next. But when payments stay within a platform’s ecosystem? Suddenly every payout becomes a gateway to higher lifetime value. Think about it – a gig worker paid through a platform-branded account is way more likely to use that platform’s financial products. A freelancer receiving instant funds to a virtual card becomes embedded in that ecosystem. It’s basically about turning one-way payouts into two-way relationships.
Gig platforms lead the charge
Gig platforms show this pattern most clearly. That 87% interest in direct payments makes perfect sense when you consider their business model. Gig workers live paycheck to paycheck – sometimes literally hour to hour. The platform that pays them fastest and most reliably becomes essential to their financial life. And the entity that pays the worker first? That’s the one that wins their trust, data, and wallet share. It’s not just about convenience anymore – it’s about becoming the center of someone’s financial universe.
How companies become banks without banking
Now, here’s the clever part: companies don’t actually need to become banks to offer bank-like services. A new generation of banking-as-a-service and embedded finance platforms are making it easier than ever to spin up virtual accounts, payment cards, or wallets without the regulatory nightmare of a banking charter. Providers like Ingo Payments specialize in embedded disbursements where compliance and risk monitoring are baked right in. For users, this means the earnings tab on their gig app can become a portal to cash advances. The rewards wallet in a loyalty program becomes a spending account. Nothing screams “banking,” but every interaction runs on regulated financial infrastructure.
The future of platform payments
So what does this all mean? The winning platforms of the future will likely be those that invest in owning their payment rails. They’ll keep data value in-network and embed financial features exactly when users need them. Marketplaces that currently rely on slow ACH transfers could instead offer instant payouts coupled with working capital loans. Gig platforms could become the primary financial relationship for millions of workers. The shift is bigger than just cost optimization or real-time payments – it’s about control. And in the new digital economy, whoever owns the payout might just own the relationship. Whoever owns the relationship? Well, they probably own the future.
