According to PYMNTS.com, the line between payments provider and platform operator is blurring dramatically, with 65% of businesses highly interested in using in-network accounts or cards for payouts like payroll and vendor invoices. The numbers jump even higher for platform-based businesses, where 87% expressed strong interest in paying gig workers directly through their own financial rails, while 75% of merchants and marketplaces want to pay suppliers in-house rather than through third-party accounts. This represents a massive shift toward companies keeping payments within their own ecosystems rather than sending money out to external bank accounts. The research, conducted in collaboration with Ingo Payments, suggests this trend goes beyond cost savings to something more fundamental: control over customer relationships and data. Businesses are realizing that every payment that leaves their system represents lost opportunities for additional services and deeper engagement.
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The real prize is control
Here’s the thing that really struck me about these numbers: we’re not just talking about cost optimization anymore. This is about companies waking up to the fact that they’ve been giving away their most valuable asset for decades. When you pay someone through traditional banking channels, you basically hand over your customer relationship to a third party. The data disappears, cross-selling opportunities vanish, and you lose any chance to offer additional financial services.
Think about it from the platform’s perspective. If you’re paying a gig worker through their bank account, that worker’s financial life happens somewhere else. But if you pay them through your own system, suddenly you become their financial home base. You can offer instant cash advances, working capital loans, or savings tools right where the money lands. That’s way more valuable than just saving a few bucks on transaction fees.
Marketplaces are leading the charge
The marketplace example really drives this home. Sellers on platforms often struggle with cash flow while waiting days for ACH transfers to clear. But what if the marketplace could offer instant payments through their own system? Suddenly, they’re not just a place to sell stuff—they’re your business bank. They can provide working capital exactly when you need it, because they already have your sales data and payment history.
And for gig platforms? The numbers speak for themselves. 87% want to pay workers directly through their own networks. That’s not about being nice—it’s about recognizing that the entity that pays the worker first wins their trust, data, and wallet share. When your earnings tab becomes your financial command center, why would you ever leave?
The embedded finance revolution makes it possible
Now, here’s what makes this trend actually feasible today. Companies don’t need to become full-blown banks anymore. With banking-as-a-service and embedded finance platforms, any company can spin up virtual accounts, payment cards, or wallets without the regulatory nightmare of getting a banking charter.
Basically, the infrastructure is becoming plug-and-play. Companies like Ingo Payments specialize in handling the compliance, risk monitoring, and transaction processing behind the scenes. So your gig app can offer banking services without looking like a bank. The earnings tab becomes a portal to cash advances, the rewards wallet becomes a spending account—all while maintaining the same user experience.
Whoever pays you owns you
So what does this mean for the future? We’re moving toward a world where payment rails become competitive moats. The platforms that control where money lands will have a huge advantage over those that don’t. They’ll have better data, deeper customer relationships, and more opportunities to monetize those relationships.
Think about it: if your paycheck lands in your platform-branded account, where are you more likely to keep your savings? Get your loans? Do your spending? The company that owns the payout might just own the relationship. And in today’s economy, whoever owns the relationship owns the future.
