How to Evaluate Your Payouts Program to Maximize ROI

⏰ Est. reading time: 3 mins

💡 What you’ll learn:

• When it might be time to review your payouts program
• 4 questions to ask to ensure maximum ROI
• The easiest way to upgrade your payouts program for next year

If your platform is currently delivering fast payouts, you’ve already taken an important step in future-proofing your business. Yet in the world of payments, you can’t afford to be complacent with your solution. It’s important to ensure that the payouts program you’re implementing is scaling effectively with you—and not slowly becoming a cost center. 

4 Questions to Ask As You Review Your Payouts Program

Evaluating your solution can ensure you’re delivering the highest quality experience to your customers and users, while also making sure you’re getting the best ROI on your efforts. Here are four questions to ask as you look to next year’s plans:

1. Am I paying unnecessary fees? 

Many platforms don’t realize how much their current payments infrastructure is eating into their margins—and fees can play a big role in that. Some providers charge fees per payout, which can become a huge financial drain, especially as you scale your business.

One of our customers, Better Trucks, said that before they switched to Branch, they were paying an inordinate amount of fees. The company’s Chief Technology Officer Mike Koleno noted that they evaluated how this cost would have been unsustainable for their growth. 

“There was a baseline cost of $15,000 a month in transaction fees. We were scaling fast, and the fees would have simply become too much.”

Switching to Branch allowed them a more cost-effective way to scale their platform. 

“If we were still using our previous provider, we’d be writing a check for $40k a month for transaction fees alone,” Koleno said. 

It’s time to re-evaluate your payments program if it’s costing you money per transaction or payout. What may have seemed like a harmless fee to begin with may not seem so harmless once your platform doubles or triples its user base. Another thing to consider is if they’re offering free options for workers. When workers have to pay fees to access their money, it’s likely to create additional issues with retention and loyalty. 

2. Are adoption rates as high as they should be?

You can build or buy the best-sounding payments integration in the world, but if customers aren’t actually using it, you may have another issue. Low adoption rates can translate to missed opportunities and may indicate that you’re running costly payouts programs that aren’t delivering real value. 

One way to increase adoption is by offering multiple fast pay solutions, including a worker wallet. Offering a fee-free debit card and digital wallet where employees can receive their fast payouts can be highly motivating for workers, particularly if it comes with incentives like cashback rewards and other perks. 

It’s also crucial that your payouts provider is committed to helping you with adoption and engagement, too. This can be done through the use of co-marketing materials—from tailored push notifications to dedicated email sequences—that can help make your solution easier for end users. This type of support is essential in making sure your solution is one people can actually use. Which leads us to our next question…

3. Am I getting the support I want?

Did you sign up for a payouts solution and then were surprised to find how hands-off the provider was? Have you had to use more of your team’s internal resources than you initially thought to support the integration?

All too often, platforms end up managing issues themselves because their provider doesn’t offer the hands-on partnership required to deliver a best-in-class experience. 

You don’t just need someone to build or set up your solution. You need support as you scale, and you need a true partner who can be with you every step of the way to ensure things run smoothly. 

This gap between technology and true partnership is something many businesses experience firsthand. As Alex Hogan, President of FlexCrew, explained: ‍

"When it came to our previous provider, you couldn’t talk to a human being. We didn’t get an integrator or an account manager. And that’s been the difference with Branch—because when I need somebody, I can talk to a real person to help us figure things out."

Branch offers white-glove support and a dedicated team focused on your success, from implementation to scale. Whether it’s handling card issuing and end-user support or fraud prevention, we act as an extension of your team, doing the heavy lifting for you. 

And great payouts don’t stop at setup or backend operations. A strong program also ensures that your customers get the same level of care you do, with a support team ready to help them navigate their experience smoothly. After all, when your end users feel supported, your entire payouts program runs more efficiently, and that’s where real value is realized.

4. Is this scalable? 

As your platform grows, so will your payout needs. You need infrastructure that can handle increasing volume, new use cases, and evolving compliance requirements—without using up all of your resources. 

Branch was built to scale. Our platform supports high-volume, real-time payouts with robust compliance and fraud protection baked in. From day one, we’re built to grow with you, and committed to constant innovation. 

Just see what our partner Tippy had to say about working with us:

“Partnering with Branch really accelerated our growth. It saved us a significant amount of money and allowed us to provide an even better product to our people. It’s been the best of both worlds.” - David Tashjian, President and CEO, Tippy. 

Whether you're launching a new vertical, expanding your user base, or monetizing payments, our infrastructure adapts to your needs as you grow—not the other way around.

It’s Time to Optimize Your Payouts Program For 2026

Payouts shouldn’t be a cost center—they should be a growth engine. Don’t fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy; switching or expanding your payout solution can save you time, money, and hassle in the long run. 

You’ve already taken the important step of embedding payouts into your platform. Now it’s time to make sure it’s working as hard for your platform as it can. As the year draws to a close, it’s time to keep your eye on 2026 and how to optimize your payouts program. 

Branch is helping the next generation of platforms and marketplaces modernize their payments stack—without the lift. And we enable platforms to embed payouts that are not only fast and flexible, but also monetizable. Whether through interchange revenue or other paths, we help turn your payouts program into a profit center.

Let’s talk about how we can help you unlock faster payouts, better user experiences, and new revenue streams, all with a partner that’s as invested in your success as you are.

Learn more here.

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