In legal settlements, every dollar you move belongs to someone else and every step can be challenged. Your job is to protect fiduciary and operational integrity while making it as easy as possible for the right people to get paid, fast.

Here is a guide to pressure test digital disbursement vendors before you commit them to your next program.

Choose a platform that:

• Segregates funds correctly and makes the flow of funds explicit (e.g., QSF/client money)
• Has the right licenses and regulatory approvals
• Is a real payments orchestrator or processor (not just a broker)
• Has transparent Terms of Service (you’re making a payment, not buying a “product”)
• Bank grade security - protects against fraud
• Promotes redemption - makes it easy for claimants to redeem funds
• Scales on demand
• Provides end to end real time visibility, exportable data, and robust APIs
• Offers fair, transparent economics for you and your claimants
• Easy to integrate through no code dashboard or API for white label 

Comparison Criteria

1. Flow of Funds & Client Money Segregation (Non-negotiable)

Start here: understand precisely where claimant funds reside at every payment leg and confirm they’re ring-fenced in proper QSF/client money accounts, because if custody isn’t clean, nothing else in the platform matters.

2. Terms of Service (Are You Paying… or Buying a Product?)

Before you fall for the demo, read the product terms carefully. Are you instructing the platform to make a regulated payment to claimants, or are you buying a “ product” the platform controls (often with breakage economics)? That single distinction determines who owns unclaimed funds, and whether you’re unintentionally shifting value away from claimants and creating real fiduciary and reputational risk for your firm.

3. Regulatory & Licensing Posture

Regulation isn’t a vibe check, it’s the foundation of your settlement program. Confirm exactly who is licensed where, how obligations are allocated between you and the platform, and how they’ll stand with you when auditors or regulators start asking questions.

4. Processor vs. Broker (Who Actually Moves the Money?)

Some vendors “moonlight” as payment platforms but quietly pass everything to another provider. If you don’t know who is actually moving the money, you don’t know who is liable when something fails—leaving you exposed on compliance, operational risk, and claimant outcomes.

5. Fraud & Risk Controls (Non-negotiable)

You’re a high-value target: large batches, sensitive data, tight timelines. Weak controls equal direct loss and regulatory pain.

6. Fees & Economics (For You and Claimants)

Price the entire journey, not just the software. Insist on a transparent rate card (including claimant fees) and model net costs by payout mix so your economics stay fair and predictable.

7. Claimant Experience (Redemption = Results)

If claimants can’t complete redemption quickly on any device, you haven’t paid them. Opt for low-friction flows, smart (not heavy-handed) verification, and clear support so invitations turn into completed payouts.

8. Payout Method Coverage (Banked & Underbanked)

Meet claimants where they are not where your platform prefers by matching each case and with the right mix of payment rails for both the banked and underbanked.

9. Take-Up Rates Optimization (Programmatic Nudges)

Turn intent into higher redemption rates: Seek programmatic, multi-channel nudges, measured with real uplift data to drive timely action. 

10. Scale & Performance 

Design for the surge that comes with large scale legal settlement cases: pick a platform that can clear massive bursts without flinching, has proven throughput, resilient queueing/retries, idempotent APIs, and real uptime statistics.

11. Transparency, Reporting & Audit

If you can’t see it, you can’t defend it. Demand real-time, claimant-level data with exportable logs and audit trails so you can prove what happened, when, and to whom. Only knowing who received an email should be unacceptable. 

12. APIs & Integration

Integrations should be boring in a good way. Demand clean, well-documented APIs and versioning so payouts are automatable, reliable, and easy to audit.

13. Support Model, SLAs & Security

When things go wrong (and they will), you need named ownership, clock-tight SLAs, and a proven security posture to keep programs reliable and defensible.

14. Whitelabelling and Trust (Branding that Doesn't Confuse)

A strong brand experience can lift redemption rates, but only if it builds trust rather than blurring who is really paying whom.

15. Partnership & Roadmap Fit

Pick a partner, not just a platform. Look for a team that co-designs with you, aligns its roadmap to your regulatory and operational needs, and treats requests as commitments not tickets.

Ready to Pressure Test Your Payout Partner?

Planning a legal settlement program or reviewing your current vendor? Use this framework to structure your RFP and vendor calls. 

For teams that want to go deeper, we can also provide a full evaluation framework, including what to verify, questions to ask, and warning signs for every critical area. Just get in touch and we will send it over.

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