Instant refunds and withdrawals are here
Paying out funds to users is now easier than ever. When you’re a Tink customer, you can now issue refunds and withdrawals automatically via API with the money arriving in under one second. Here’s how payouts are a key differentiator for any business that needs to pay people, from platforms and marketplaces to e-commerce merchants.
Tink adds three new instant payout types to its payments stack: refunds, withdrawals and sweeps
Refunds and withdrawals are processed on the fastest rails available, settling in less than one second on average
Tink customers can now issue payouts programmatically via API, enabling fully automated refunds and withdrawals
Whether your users are withdrawing funds, requesting a refund, or cashing out earnings, payouts are an opportunity to create experiences that delight and boost loyalty. But traditional methods are slow and inefficient – instead of increasing customer engagement, they’re a potential source of friction.
There are three new payout types available (check out our Docs for more info):
Refunds: send a full or partial refund to an end user’s bank account via API, with the funds settling in under one second on average
Withdrawals: enable users to withdraw funds or cash out earnings to their bank account instantly
Sweeps: set up automated transfers, also known as sweeps, from your settlement account to a pre-configured payout account (e.g. your merchant bank account).
For now, instant refunds and withdrawals are available when you’re paying out end users who’ve previously paid via Tink. We’re working on open-loop payouts too – more news to come on this soon.
Why instant refunds matter
Return processes are a key differentiator in ecommerce. In fact, the time it takes to receive a refund is a key factor in how likely you are to shop with a merchant again.
With traditional payment methods it can take up to five days for a refund to arrive from the moment it’s sent. Add this to the 4-6 days it typically takes for the goods to arrive and the merchant to process the return, and you might be waiting up to 2 weeks to receive a refund. For shoppers this can cause friction and anxiety over when they’ll get their money back, leading to increased customer support contacts.
With Tink, every refund is processed on the fastest payment rails available. On average it takes roughly one second for refunds to settle in the UK, and one second in Europe on the SEPA Instant scheme. This more than halves the potential wait time, giving shoppers a reason to keep coming back.
Who benefits?
Retailers
Travel and airline services
Marketplaces
SaaS businesses
Why instant withdrawals matter
The ability to provide immediate access to funds or earnings is key for any app where its customers maintain a wallet or source of funds. Unlike traditional bank transfers, which can take up to five days to settle, Tink-powered withdrawals or cashouts provide instant gratification at a key moment in the customer journey – increasing the likelihood of a user depositing more funds on your platform in the future.
Traditional methods may also require verifying a new user’s account information before they can withdraw funds. What does this mean? Asking a user to manually enter their account details, make a micro deposit or worse, upload bank statements. All of which slows the process down to a glacial pace and increases backoffice workload – not to mention risking even more human error. And if you’re managing payouts manually, you’ll need to spend hours scrolling through reports and tracking payments.
Withdrawals through Tink come with account verification built in. The user’s account details are verified when they first top up their account and prepopulated later without any additional user interaction. The process can also be fully automated via API, letting users cash out on demand, in real time, and with zero risk of human error.
Who benefits?
Wealth management platforms
Financial services
iGaming apps
Crypto and trading platforms
How it works
Tink customers can issue payouts programmatically to any user who’s previously paid through Tink. Here’s the process:
Tink receives a request via API to issue a payout (refund, withdrawal, or sweep).
Tink executes the payout using pre-verified account data.
You can be automatically notified of the payout status.
We’ve got plenty of improvements on the way, such as the ability to issue payouts manually from inside the Tink Console and enabling payouts to any user regardless of whether they’ve previously paid via Tink.
Curious about increasing payout success and delighting your users in the process? Get in touch.
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