Mass Payouts 101

In today’s digital world, business moves fast. Interactions between team members happen in the blink of an eye — so why shouldn’t payments be instant, too? Traditional payment methods can’t keep up with the evolving needs of modern, global businesses.

Mass payouts let you pay recipients around the world through a single automated system. It’s a secure, affordable, efficient solution that’s changing the game for businesses in all industries. In this post, we’ll cover the ins and outs of mass payouts: how they work, who should use them, and how a customized mass payout platform will revolutionize your payment processes.

What are Mass Payouts?

A mass payout, also known as a bulk payment or batch payment, is a method of paying multiple recipients at the same time. This automated process sends out payments in varying amounts, currencies, and methods. Mass payouts can be routinely scheduled and adapted from a user-facing platform.

Businesses use mass payouts to pay a wide variety of overseas recipients, including freelancers, contractors, vendors, and affiliates. They’re perfect for irregular payments and non-traditional employment structures.

Although simple for the user and their payees, a mass payout is actually an extremely complex process facilitated by a third-party platform. Paying international recipients requires connections with international rails and detailed compliance standards. That’s why many businesses resist overseas expansion — it often entails a lot of work for their in-house team, not to mention high costs. Mass payouts allow businesses of all sizes to expand their hiring and sales overseas, without taking too many resources away from their domestic team.

The Benefits of Mass Payouts

Thanks to the rise of cutting-edge digital payment platforms like i-payout, mass payouts are more accessible today than ever before. But are they worth it for your business? That depends on what you’re looking for.

Here are a few notable advantages of mass payouts, as opposed to traditional forms of payment.

Reduced Costs

Other international payment methods come with high individual fees. Mass payouts cut costs by charging a single, flat fee for sending multiple transactions at once.

For example, a single wire transfer can cost as much as $50. That might be fine for a one-time payment, but when it comes to paying multiple overseas team members or vendors, those costs will add up. On top of that, mass payouts account for exchange fees when paying recipients in another currency. Other transfer methods come with fluctuating, unpredictable exchange fees.

Fewer Resources

Setting up individual payment processes for multiple overseas recipients is a headache — there’s no way around it. If you’re handling your international payments in-house, you’re using a lot of resources, including valuable working hours, to meet compliance standards and accommodate every payee’s preferences.

Mass payouts take all that work off your hands. Your payout platform handles the compliance, onboarding, and payment processes, so you’re using fewer resources.

High Security

Mass payouts are highly secure. Because they’re facilitated by a third-party provider, your payments are processed through an encrypted platform with robust data protection standards. It’s also generally easier to secure a single batch payment than multiple individual transactions.

Meeting Payees’ Preferences

When hiring international contractors, it can be difficult to meet everyone’s preferences. Some people may prefer direct payments in their local currency, while others want to be paid in USD. Mass payouts allow you to pay everyone on your list in their preferred method, without the hassle. Keeping your contractors or affiliates happy helps boost your business’s reputation and international growth.

Who Should Use Mass Payouts?

Mass payouts aren’t necessarily right for everyone. Not all businesses need an easier way to send out multiple payments at once. However, they can be great for any business with a large number of payees, especially those with international reach.

Here are a few examples of businesses that can take advantage of mass payouts to streamline their payments:

Direct Sales

Direct sales companies often rely on affiliate payments, which grow and become more complex as more affiliates join your team. Many direct sales companies today are reaching into untapped markets, particularly in developing economies.

Mass payouts make it easy to distribute affiliate payments around the world. Direct sales businesses can easily onboard new affiliates through their mass payout platform and send payments in multiple currencies, without wasting costs or resources.

eCommerce

eCommerce businesses often rely on a vast network of vendors around the world. Mass payouts let business owners pay their sellers or vendors at once, on a routine schedule, even as payment amounts fluctuate.

Remote Teams

These days, many businesses employ a partially or fully remote team. Mass payouts streamline domestic and international payments into one automated process. That makes it easy for a business owner to distribute payments on a regular schedule, with or without the support of an in-house team.

Gig Economy Workers

The gig economy employs skilled workers all over the world on a contract or freelance basis. Many modern businesses choose to hire gig workers over traditional employees, as they require less overhead cost and commitment.

If your business employs international contractors, mass payouts will make it easier to onboard, verify, and pay them — even for a sole proprietor working remotely.

Choosing a Mass Payout Provider

The key to seamless, easy-to-navigate mass payouts is finding the right provider. Mass payouts are facilitated by third-party fintech platforms — they generally aren’t offered by traditional banks or credit unions. If your current bank or financial platform doesn’t provide mass payouts, it’s time to look for a new partner.

Some important features to look for in a mass payout provider include:

• Helpful customer service – You’ll want to speak to a live representative whenever you have questions about your payouts.
• High security – Look for a payment provider with high data encryption standards and no history of harmful breaches.
• Variety of payment methods – Your payout platform should offer a wide variety of transfer methods, including (but not limited to) prepaid digital cards and global ACH.
• User-friendly interface – Scheduling and managing your mass payouts should be intuitive on the platform’s interface.
• Customization – Cookie-cutter payment solutions won’t work for everyone. Look for a flexible mass payout provider that customizes your payment processes to meet your needs.

i-payout offers all these features and then some. If you’re looking for a friendly, secure, reliable mass payout platform to support your company as you expand your global reach, connect with an i-payout representative today.

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