Why Real-Time Payments Are a Real Opportunity for Marketplaces and Gig-Economy Platforms

By: Mark Stiltner |
Cross-Border Commerce

Why eCommerce Needs to Embrace Realtime Payments

Published: May 22, 2020
Updated: Jul 17, 2023

Platforms that Don’t Offer Real-Time Payments are at Risk of Losing their Sellers and Gig-Workers.

Globally, 85% percent of gig economy workers would work more often if they could get paid faster, according to a recent analysis by PYMNTS.com.¹ Gig economy workers want greater pay flexibility too, with the PYMNTS.com analysis showing that globally, 51% of gig-workers prefer to be paid through an alternative to direct deposit.

Uber’s ride-sharing service and Lyft are experiencing decreased demand due to rapidly diminished travel activity around the globe, but the sharp uptick in working and shopping from home has been a boon for delivery services such as DoorDash, GoJek, and Uber Eats.

How to Pay Gig Economy Workers

Bond Capital partner Mary Meeker² — who produces the influential Internet Trends Report each year — has forecast that on-demand and to-the-door delivery companies will acquire permanent market share, because of the pandemic’s effects.

The immediate impact on ecommerce recruitment has been remarkable, with Meeker noting that InstaCart and Amazon are seeking almost 500,000 full-service shoppers, warehouse workers, and delivery drivers between them.

In this new landscape, ecommerce payout trends are changing much faster than they have in the past. Paying sellers on your online marketplace and workers on gig-economy platforms faster using real-time payout methods can give businesses a strategic advantage, helping to gain market share in new countries, while retaining loyal contractors and sellers in current markets.

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Grab Gets Market Share with Real-Time Payments

“In Singapore, Grab was able to dominate the ride-sharing market partly by paying drivers in real-time, while its competitors paid every few days,” explains Joel Yarbrough, Rapyd VP of Asia Pacific. Joel was formerly the head of Corporate Development and Integration for Payments at Grab, where he helped pioneer its industry-leading payment technology.

Grab discovered drivers wanted to access pay daily, even multiple times a day. It delivered on this unmet need and created loyalty and preference to capture market share. According to the World Bank, GrabPay, Grab’s integrated ewallet product, extends local payout opportunities to an estimated two-thirds of people without bank accounts in Southeast Asia.³

To deliver real-time payouts to gig-workers, Grab leveraged the existing real-time payments infrastructure in Singapore. Real-time payment networks are rolling out in countries around the world. Like Grab, businesses can win loyalty from online sellers and gig economy workers by giving them the real-time funds access they want.

Currently, seven of the 10 ASEAN countries have rolled out sophisticated real-time instant payments systems.

The Opportunity in Improved Financial Infrastructure

Real-time (RTP) networks are scaling around the world, creating new opportunities in countries like India, Singapore, Taiwan and Brazil. Embracing real-time payment methods for making disbursements will be a key way to successfully engage marketplace sellers and gig economy workers.

Nearly 90% of executives already believe real-time payments can positively influence business liquidity, planning, forecasting and cash investment.¹In an era where COVID-19 has made household incomes uncertain, being able to quickly make payments can help your business stand out today, and help prepare you for the future.

Dive into the Disbursement Methods that help you capture market share and worker/seller loyalty in Asia.