5 ways to turn mass payments into a competitive advantage

1. Make the first payment count

What enables new companies to rapidly scale operations? For most of us, “mass payments” probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But prompt, accurate, and reliable payments are a foundation of trust. 

When relationships with contractors and other partners are built on that trust, companies have a stronger foundation for growth. Allan Lopez of Puzzle saw that firsthand.

“We grew from four or five individuals to over 100 now. And building trust was definitely a fundamental part of this,” he said. “Being able to pay on time was one of those incredible value propositions that we gave to our contractors.”

One idea came through clearly in our conversation: Trust can become a meaningful differentiator, even in a crowded market.

“There are many, many companies out there that probably perform or try to deliver a similar service as we do,” Lopez reflected. “Building it with the trust of our contractors is what makes us a little bit different.”

Trust and transparency should always be a part of supplier, contractor, and partner relationships, but they’re especially important at the very beginning. When the first onboarding and payout experience is quick, easy, and seamless, contractors and suppliers can begin the relationship with greater confidence.

That positive experience can have a ripple effect, strengthening a company’s reputation among the people and businesses it depends on. The cost of getting it wrong is significant: 26% of companies surveyed by Tipalti said they had lost contributors in the past year because of payout issues.

2. Treat payees as partners

When suppliers, contractors, and other partners know they can count on you to pay on time, that builds trust. But as Leanne Johnstone noted in our conversation, reliable payments alone don’t necessarily create loyalty.

“One fundamental thing that I see as a kind of linear stream that crosses through all the successful programs that I’ve built and managed is that partners are not just suppliers,” she said. “They’re an extension of your actual business.”

“It’s great if you can pay your partners on time, but that’s not the only thing that you need to be doing in order to build loyalty, because everybody can pay people around the world,” she continued.

Johnstone didn’t discount the importance of reliable payments, but she emphasized that they’re only part of the picture. “When you treat a partner almost like an employee or an extension of your existing marketing arm or sales arm, there’s a different mindset that goes with that,” she said.

What stood out to me was that reliable payments can’t be separated from the broader payee experience. Reliable payments establish credibility, but lasting loyalty also depends on communication, transparency, and a shared sense of purpose.

3. Build payments into your growth plan

An effective mass payments operation can support stronger, longer-lasting relationships with partners and contractors. As those relationships strengthen and new ones form, businesses gain a stronger foundation for growth.

That’s generally a good thing. But to stay on that trajectory, businesses have to strike a balance. Focusing purely on growth can strain existing relationships, but focusing exclusively on existing relationships can limit new opportunities.

Mason Coyle described how Create Music Group balances operational speed with proactive communication. Efficient and repeatable processes streamline operations, freeing up more time for partner relationship management.

“A big part of that is built into our integration onboarding plan,” Coyle explained. “When we close a deal and purchase a record label, whether that be here in the United States, in Canada, or elsewhere around the world, we try to implement a quick turnaround, 90-day post-acquisition integration plan.”

“That’s the planning and speed and proactivity there,” he noted. “But also communicating at onboarding with the new artists, I think, is critical to Leanne and Allan’s point about loyalty and trust. If you’re forthcoming about changes and willing to be a partner with them along every step of the journey, that definitely builds trust.”

For businesses managing increasingly complex partner networks, a payout API can connect payment instructions, payee management, and global payouts to the systems already supporting the business.

To me, this illustrates how finance can enable growth without leaving existing partners behind. The right processes create room to expand, while clear communication helps preserve the relationships behind that growth.

Businesses will need that balance as payout volume rises. Tipalti’s research found that 75% of companies expect their global transaction volume to increase over the next 24 months, while 87% said their finance and payment systems have already reached their limits. Another 47% had delayed or reduced a strategic initiative because their payment infrastructure couldn’t support it.

The businesses best prepared for the next stage of growth will be those that treat payout infrastructure as part of their strategy—not as a back-office process to revisit only after friction appears.

4. Standardize the process, personalize the experience

As partner networks grow, companies need repeatable processes that can support more people without making the experience feel impersonal. The challenge is standardizing global payment operations while preserving the human relationships behind them.

Throughout our conversation, each panelist touched on a seemingly simple—but vital—principle for today’s digital age: Businesses don’t have to choose between consistency and personalization.

And as Allan Lopez noted, the focus on personalization can start even before you enter a working relationship.

“When you actually build an honest relationship with someone, and you sell the value of your company without selling the service, you build a genuine human connection,” he said. “And when this relationship’s nurtured through time, they end up in business.”

Crucially, moving into a business relationship shouldn’t mean abandoning humanity and personalization.

“We connect with them on a personal level so that this doesn’t really feel like a transactional, day-to-day relationship of, “‘Hey, here’s your invoice. Pay us. We deliver the service. That’s it,’” he added.

Finding that balance between consistency and personalization can be challenging at first. Ultimately, it comes down to standardizing the core process while still personalizing the relationship itself.

That distinction is important. Companies can make payments more consistent and efficient without making the people receiving them feel like another transaction. For global networks, personalization can also mean giving payees access to relevant currencies, payment methods, and localized payment experiences. In Tipalti’s research, 86% of respondents agreed that localized payouts help attract and retain partners and creators.

5. Use AI to improve efficiency—not replace connection

Fostering real human connections has always been an essential part of business. Our conversation reinforced that AI-driven automation can improve the efficiency and consistency of mass payments—but people still need to direct how the technology is used.

“I like to think of AI as a new tool that should be adopted because it’s available. It’s tech that’s there that can help you augment what you already do, but it should never replace the human that is directing it,” Johnstone said.

Still, she understood the impulse to rush into AI implementation. “We get excited about new things as digital marketers, and so we want to try it and test it and stretch the limits of it.”

“We want to see how far we can go with it,” she continued. “But then all of a sudden we start pulling it back and going, ‘Hmm, maybe some of that wasn’t a good idea. Let’s roll that back. Let’s look at this. Let’s put best practices in.’”

That experimentation is valuable, but it needs to be paired with thoughtful oversight. AI can support mass payment operations; people remain responsible for the relationships, decisions, and outcomes behind them.

Turn mass payment operations into a competitive advantage

Mass payments may operate behind the scenes, but their impact reaches far beyond operations. My conversation with Allan, Leanne, and Mason reinforced that reliable, flexible payment experiences can help companies earn partner trust, expand their networks, and support growth without losing the personal relationships behind those networks.

Mass payments solutions don’t create growth on their own. But when companies combine operational efficiency with a thoughtful partner experience, payments can become an important part of the foundation for growth.

For more insights from my conversation with Allan, Leanne, and Mason, watch the full session from Tipalti’s Elevate online customer event there.