Payment issues affect majority of affiliates and publishers

A survey by payment automation company Tipalti of 150 publishers and affiliates has found that the majority have faced some form of payment issues with an advertising network.

69% of respondents are currently ready to drop an advertising network, or have already dropped one, due to problems with payment.

Publishers and affiliate marketers operate in a competitive and crowded marketplace, where there are over 500,000 different media buying destinations for advertisers. This also means that publishers are increasingly able to switch networks if they are unhappy.

51% of publishers reported that current payment processes need improvement.

Key findings

It is perhaps unsurprising that 95% of publishers expect to be paid on time to ensure their loyalty. Only 38%, however, reported being completely satisfied with way their payments are being handled.

Opening up the range of payment method options is a desire held by many publishers. 76% want to be able to use payPal and ACH, while most non-US entities wanting to pay in their local currency.

Communication is also an important issue:

–          93% considered email notifications on payment status as crucial

–          96% would like to be able to view payment status online

–          96% want to be notified of payment issues in advance

Another key them was early payments:

–          85% were interested in being able to easily access early payment offers

–          29% would be willing to pay a 5% fee for the privilege

–          13% would be willing to pay up to 9%

“As advertising networks around the world battle to compete with Facebook and Google for market share of the digital media landscape, the quality of those networks’ publishers and affiliate marketers becomes their essential differentiator,” said Chen Amit, CEO of Tipalti.

“Publishers and affiliates have an abundance of network choice, and networks must clearly step up their payments offerings to attract and retain the best partners. Those networks that settle for low quality partners will likely not survive.”