At Fintech Meetup 2025, Anita Hayrapetian, VP of Sales at Ingo Payments, discusses the company's role in payment orchestration, AI-driven fraud prevention, and the evolution of embedded finance.
For over two decades, Ingo Payments has quietly positioned itself as a critical infrastructure provider in the financial services ecosystem. Originally founded as a check-cashing business, the company has evolved into a payment orchestration powerhouse, enabling businesses -- from insurers to gaming platforms -- to embed seamless, real-time disbursement capabilities into their customer experiences.
At Fintech Meetup 2025, Anita Hayrapetian, VP of Sales, outlined Ingo's growth trajectory, its expanding role in banking-as-a-service, and how AI is reshaping risk management in payments.
At its core, Ingo Payments operates as a disbursement platform, allowing businesses to instantly move money across multiple channels. Whether processing an insurance payout, funding a digital wallet, or facilitating gambling winnings, the company provides the technological backbone that powers real-time transactions for some of the biggest names in the industry.
"We are a payment orchestration platform," Hayrapetian explained. "We started with check cashing, but today, we support a wide range of real-time payment modalities, including instant deposits to debit cards, ACH transfers, PayPal, Venmo, and even traditional paper checks -- because in some industries, like insurance, paper checks are still a requirement."
Ingo Payments' flexibility makes it a go-to partner not just for fintechs, but for large enterprises across various industries. Among its most notable clients:
🔹 PayPal & Venmo - Using Ingo for check-cashing services, processing thousands of transactions daily.
🔹 GEICO - Allowing customers to choose how they receive claim payouts, whether instantly to a bank account or via alternative payment rails.
🔹 Caesars Sportsbook - Enabling instant winnings disbursement for gaming customers.
The company's approach is simple: give consumers more control over how they receive funds while providing businesses with frictionless disbursement solutions.
For software platforms and vertical SaaS providers, embedding financial services into their offerings is no longer optional -- it's an expectation. Yet, for many product managers who don't come from fintech backgrounds, integrating payments can be daunting.
"Ingo makes it easy," Hayrapetian said. "We offer multiple integration options, including APIs, embedded iFrames for non-PCI-compliant partners, and a low-code/no-code SaaS platform called Digital Pay. It's all about providing flexibility while ensuring compliance and security."
The company has also expanded into banking-as-a-service, acquiring a firm that allows businesses to offer financial products without needing to be a regulated bank.
As the fintech ecosystem grows, so do fraud risks. Ingo Payments has responded by leveraging AI to enhance fraud detection and risk management, particularly in high-risk areas like instant account funding and check cashing.
"We've accumulated years of transaction data, which allows us to train our AI models for better fraud detection," Hayrapetian explained. "For example, when a user tries to cash a check, our system assigns a risk score in real time, helping businesses decide whether to accept, reject, or flag the transaction for review."
By embedding machine learning algorithms into its underwriting process, Ingo helps financial institutions reduce chargebacks and prevent fraud-related losses -- a crucial capability as regulators increase scrutiny on fintechs facilitating high-speed payments.
With fintech becoming more competitive, differentiation is key. According to Hayrapetian, Ingo's longevity, reputation, and ability to bundle payment and risk management services set it apart.
🔹 Trust & Scale - "We're not a startup. We've been in this space for nearly 25 years, and we process transactions for some of the biggest brands in the world."
🔹 Comprehensive Payment Options - "Through a single API, businesses can offer a full suite of disbursement choices, making it seamless for end-users."
🔹 Risk Mitigation - "We are one of the few providers that offer instant account funding with built-in fraud protection."
For businesses that rely on fast, secure, and flexible money movement, Ingo Payments provides an infrastructure that minimizes risk while maximizing user experience.
Looking ahead, the company sees embedded finance as the next major growth frontier. As more non-financial businesses look to integrate banking-like services, Ingo is positioning itself as the go-to platform for frictionless, real-time disbursements.
"We're at an inflection point," Hayrapetian said. "The expectation for instant, secure, and customizable payouts is higher than ever. Our focus is to keep innovating -- whether through better AI-driven fraud prevention, deeper partnerships, or expanding our banking-as-a-service capabilities."
With embedded finance on the rise and real-time payments becoming the norm, Ingo Payments is ensuring that businesses across industries -- from insurance to gaming -- can deliver seamless financial experiences to their customers.
As fintechs continue to blur the lines between financial services and software, companies like Ingo Payments are proving that payments don't have to be complex -- they just have to work.
