Payments
Ingo Money, Mobile Remote Deposit Network for Prepaid Cards
by 
Chiraag Patel · November 30, 2013
Ingo Money surveyed its customers to determine what they wanted most from their check payment system and in response developed the following solutions: faster money transfer, a streamlined approach to reduce the number of steps, the ability to load money onto cards for portability.
Ingo Money formerly known as Chexar Networks, is a leader in check decisioning and guaranteed funding for any type and size of check. Ingo Money has provided these services for more than 12 years in company owned locations and now at thousands of bank. They have provided solutions for 5,000 bank and AFS locations, almost 1,000 ATMs , kiosk locations and mobile devices around the nation. Some of the largest banks and non-bank financial services companies in the country rely on Ingo Money to manage and guarantee the risk for them. The app is currently downloaded 10,000-50,000 times from the app store.
This a video giving you an overview of Ingo Money’s Platform: Ingo – The Good Funds Network is also the first mobile remote deposit network for prepaid cards that gives consumers access to money in minutes from any type of check from a mobile phone. Consumers can now download a mobile application, enroll with Ingo, load their eligible cards into the wallet, and push any approved check to their cards in days for free or in minutes for a fee. One minute it’s a check, a few minutes later it can be money on your prepaid card.
What are Good Funds?
Good Funds are irreversible, ready-to-spend funds. Once Ingo loads the funds to your card, they are ready to spend, and the risk that the check is bad is ours. No deposit reversals, no overdrawn accounts, no hidden fees. But Ingo does reserve the right to recover funds from bad checks if you knew the check was bad when you sent it, if you attempt to cash or deposit it elsewhere, or if you otherwise act illegally or fraudulently.
The check approval process is carried out in-house within Ingo Money enabling a faster approval process when compared to the normal check approval system, but also Ingo Money is taking on the risk of the check on itself. Other benefits that it provides its customers are that of speed, low transaction cost and mobility of checks. Also there are no time limits on the use of this application, so its users can avail cash at anytime in the day 24×7.
Steps to use the Ingo Money Application:
- Download the IngoMoney app onto your smartphone
- Create your profile and enter card details of your Visa prepaid card
- Snap the front and back of any check and use the Ingo Money app to submit the check to Ingo review and approval
- Wait for 7 days and funds would be loaded onto your cards for free, but if you need the money in minutes you need to pay 1% fee for payroll and Government checks and 4% fee for others.
- With this you can now use your Visa prepaid card where ever you want as it has been loaded with funds
- Fee charged: You can choose to access your money in minutes for a 1% or 4% fee, depending on check type, or in 7 days for no fee.
A few negative issues that come up in using the Application:
- The maximum values you may place on your Card using Ingo are $2,500 per check, $5,000 per day, and $10,000 per month, subject to your card programs load limits
- Bad user reviews due to less flexibility of the application
- Requires high quality camera in smartphones, an area where most smartphones lack, thus currently limitation on its usage and growth.
Ingo Money has partnered with Visa Prepaid cards, Akimbo card, card.com, Kaiku Visa Prepaid card,Rush Card, Rapid PayCard, PayCheck Plus, UPside Visa Prepaid card. Baltimore-based growth equity firm Camden Partners has invested in Ingo Money. No financial terms were disclosed. The investment will be used to accelerate development and expansion of the Ingo Good Funds Network.
LTP View: Ingo Money’ssmartphone-based application transfers money to customers’ prepaid cards from a check. Its wide network and association with many banks would hold it in good stead against competition, but it would have to develop solutions to protect itself from future competition.