Akshay Rawat is a classic example of the blend of technological understanding and business vision. He has over twenty years of experience in designing payment systems that are highly scalable to meet the needs of the growing gig economy. At Checkr Pay, Akshay is responsible for engineering payment platforms that are unique to gig workers as well as the platforms that operate them. Over the course of his career, he has focused on simplicity, people-orientedness, and feedback – all principles that have defined his thinking about technology and products.
Akshay’s career field experience can be described as both broad and deep. That is why, having worked in some of the industry-leading companies like ThoughtWorks and becoming the first employee at Clerky, he has always been at the forefront of product development. He has also incorporated other companies, including Floh.in and Activesphere, through which he had realized a feeling of establishing organizations. In his present organization, he fully harnesses this versatility to design financial solutions that target the gig workforce, while in the engineering department, he applies for his product management roles. His work exploits modern technologies, such as event-driven architecture, distributed databases, and machine learning algorithms, to improve the detection of fraud.
The intricacies of gig payment platforms
The gig economy seems to have its disadvantages, especially where payment systems have to meet the varying needs of the workers. For example, Akshay points out that ‘’gig workers today expect multiple payment options for receiving their earnings.’’ Direct deposits, real-time payment, and P2P apps, such as Venmo or Cash App, are examples. ‘Some want them for the sake of cost reductions while others need instant payouts irrespective of the charges,’ he adds, meaning that there is a need to come up with solutions that meet all these needs and draw talents.
Another operational challenge is the high volume of transactions involving small payments. Akshay also shares that it is effective to perform a broad analysis of support issues, including fraud or identity confirmation, and eliminate them in advance to reduce the load on support services and improve operations on a large scale. Moreover, he also emphasizes compliance and notes that gig platforms are to operate within complex payment and labor legislation. ‘A platform that can easily move in line with the changes in the regulatory framework enables companies to concentrate on the growth of their business instead of entanglement in legal matters,’ Akshay adds. Apart from enhancing efficiency, this approach enhances the trust between workers and the users that they interact with on the gig platforms since the verified workers are trusted by the consumers.
Constructing Flexible Payment Systems with Sophisticated Structures
It is possible that the different types of payment methods can also be demanding in order to implement a suitable system to accommodate all the gig workers. Akshay also appreciates the concept of applying a multilayer architecture based on microservices. ‘Each payment method is based on different technologies and standards,’ he says, so it is essential to offer a single API that customers can use, even though the platform is dealing with multiple layers of integration. It also means that various forms of payment systems can work in harmony so that the customers do not need to master the underlying mechanisms.
Akshay explains further, “The application layer is integrated with the payment methods layer, and the two work through interfaces. The application layer requests specific transactions within issuance or tracking, and these requests are served by the microservices within the payment methods layer. Such disconnection allows the application layer to remain independent of the internal workings of the payment systems while passing on the operations to the correct microservices.
This kind of architecture makes it easier to onboard customers, while the worker-facing wallet and customer dashboards must use the same public API to avoid problems and make the process more stable.
Strategies for integrating customers into organizations’ value creation process
Akshay states that it is crucial to address the clients’ requirements, starting with the big enterprise that needs a special integration scenario and finishing with the mid-sized company that requires a simple integration requiring little or no code. “The best thing we want to achieve is to have a product that can fit in the various go-to market strategies of various customers,” he adds. To achieve this, Akshay advocates for a dual approach: ready-made connectors and templates for simpler clients and more flexible APIs for complex clients. This strategy makes it possible for companies of different sizes to connect to the platform in a manner that is convenient in terms of technical complexity and time.
Akshay also emphasizes that public APIs are relevant to any industry and have become one of the main advantages of the platform. “All the main capabilities are based on public APIs to ensure that they are open to any developer,” he adds. The design allows clients to choose the best solution, either the provided UI that can be deployed quickly or build unique experiences based on the same API. For instance, Checkr Pay provides an embedded wallet that is a low-code solution, while stripe checkout includes both a low-code product and bespoke solutions to satisfy diverse customer needs.
Solving Payment Issues for the World
Payments at scale come with several management issues, especially those touching on cash management. “Working capital increases challenges for gig platforms,” Akshay says, describing the time it takes to receive credit card clearing balances and the responsibility to remunerate workers in a timely manner. He suggests that low-balance alerts should be sent in real-time and that machine learning should be adopted to predict necessary cash reserves. When the funds are temporarily out, Akshay recommends providing short-term funding to help the clients cover the gap until the pay-ins are made.
Another major issue that has to do with high transaction volume is dispute resolution, where many transactions end up with payment reversals. Such issues may include service delivery disputes or wrong banking details. To avoid such problems, according to Akshay, one should employ some available options, such as Plaid, to confirm the bank account so that payments would be made to the right payee. ‘KYC-based solutions are important for identification of workers’, he says, to ensure that nobody but the qualified workers perform on the platform. The layered approach to security and verification makes it possible to create trust and, at the same time, improve operations.
Flexible to Workers’ Payment Choices
Akshay also acknowledges that every gig worker will require different payment solutions, hence the need to design payment solutions for different use cases. But he quickly sums up the idea by saying, ‘There isn’t a single solution for all.’ For instance, if a health care provider receives big biweekly payments, then he or she will prefer to go for direct deposits as a way of avoiding the charges from the instant transfers. However, workers involved in real-time gigs value immediate access to the money earned, albeit the transaction cost, to meet an emergent need.
Also, employees are different in their choice of the platform to receive payments. Some even use social apps such as Cash App for loyalty, while others use conventional bank accounts for better organization of their funds. ‘Another important integration is with tax providers,’ Akshay continues, noting that payment platforms have to facilitate tax filing via their services to make it easier for gig workers to sort out their finances; features like pre-filled forms make the job much easier.
Technological Advancements that are defining Gig Payments
As for what is expected to shape payment platforms, Akshay highlights several technologies that are expected to take shape in the future. He singles out the increased use of real-time payment (RTP) systems by banks, which will enable even more employees to receive their wages immediately. He also discusses growth in fraud protection and cites solutions from Sardine.ai, Salv, and Stripe Sigma that improve identity verification and fraud checks in real-time.
As for gig platforms, Akshay continues, ‘‘Effective identity verification decreases operational costs due to the reduction of fraud.’’ Furthermore, synchronizing the background checks with the payment systems helps simplify the workers’ onboarding processes and ensures conformity to legal and financial regulations. He also anticipates other uses of artificial intelligence technology, including an intelligent chatbot that can study transaction histories to reduce support costs and dynamic pricing that increases worker wages during peak hours. These technologies are going to be crucial in creating better, faster payment systems for the gig economy.
Their ability to solve difficult problems has made Akshay the leader in the financial technology industry. His approach, which combines the best of what is currently possible in terms of technology with an understanding of human needs at their best, and in a context that is rapidly changing, is a model to follow for the development of future payment solutions for workers in the gig economy.
