How fintech's customer experience playbook can transform your claimant satisfaction and boost settlement completion rates
Law firms handling class actions and mass settlements face a hidden problem that's costing them money and reputation - claimant experience. Often the focus for firms is legal strategy and case outcomes, but an outdated disbursement process might be undermining everything you've built.
But it's often forgotten that claimants are consumers who are more accustomed to interacting with slick interfaces daily, especially across fintech. They expect the same speed, choice, and transparency from legal proceedings that they get from their banking apps. When your settlement process involves 12-week waits and zero communication, you're potentially damaging trust and reducing payout completion rates.
The opportunity is massive. Fintech companies cracked the customer experience code through deliberate design choices that Legal can adapt immediately. The technology exists, the frameworks are proven, and early adopters are already gaining competitive advantages.
This guide breaks down exactly what fintech gets right and how to apply those lessons to transform your claimant experience - without sacrificing compliance or security.
The Experience Gap Is Real
Most legal processes were never designed with the end user in mind. The numbers tell the story:
- 78% of law firms accept electronic payments from clients
- But disbursements remain stuck in the analog age
- 59% of class action claimants feel unsure about when they'll be paid
- Over 30% of settlement checks go uncashed for amounts under $50
Meanwhile, fintech cracked the code on customer experience through four pillars: speed, choice, transparency, and trust.
Speed - The New Baseline
Real-time payments process in 3 seconds. The global real-time payments market grows at 32% annually. By 2028, 70-80% of US financial institutions will handle instant payments.
Speed is now table stakes.
What this means for legal… Stop batching payments for administrative convenience. Use faster payment rails. Automate verification instead of manual review cycles. Set clear timelines and hit them every time.
The UK's Online Civil Money Claims platform cut case resolution from 30 weeks to 8 weeks by going digital. Same legal standards, better execution.
Choice - One Size Fits Nobody
Survey data shows payment preferences split evenly:
- 31% prefer direct bank deposit
- 30% want payment apps (PayPal, Venmo, Zelle)
- 30% choose prepaid cards
- The rest still want checks
The insight: Offering six payment options earns 59.5/100 customer satisfaction scores. Two options or fewer? 50.6/100.
What this means for legal: Build a menu of payout methods. Let claimants choose their preferred channel during the redemption process.
Transparency - No Black Boxes
Fintech companies obsess over user visibility. Transaction history, real-time status, predictable flows. Users can see what's happening with their money at all times.
Legal disbursements operate in a communications black hole. 55% of class action recipients question the process validity due to poor communication.
What this means for legal: Send automated status updates at key milestones. Provide payment tracking. Use plain language, not legal jargon. Build FAQ pages that answer questions before people ask them.
When you promise payments by June 30, deliver 100% by June 30.
Trust Through Technology
Fintech platforms earn trust through security and reliability. Bank-grade encryption, fraud detection, biometric authentication. They make compliance a feature, not a burden.
What this means for legal: Use automated identity verification. Implement real-time fraud screening. Communicate security measures clearly. Provide human support when technology hits edge cases.
The Competitive Reality
The switching costs are low now. 73% of users would change banks for better digital experience. 49% leave brands after poor UX, 86% abandon brands after two bad experiences.
Your claimants aren't locked in. Poor experience damages your reputation and affects future case participation.
Legal firms can directly learn from Fintech’s customer experience playbook -
Immediate actions:
- Audit your current disbursement process for unnecessary delays
- Offer multiple digital payment options alongside traditional methods
- Create automated communication workflows for status updates
- Build simple self-service portals for preference management
Technology enablers:
- Partner with legal-specific fintech platforms that handle compliance
- Use APIs for instant identity verification and fraud screening
- Implement real-time dashboards for payment tracking
- Automate routine tasks that bog down your team
The Business Case Is Clear
Every $1 invested in UX returns $100. Companies with top design practices grow twice as fast as benchmarks.
For law firms this means reduced administrative costs, faster settlement cycles, higher client satisfaction. Early adopters gain competitive advantage while others catch up.
Why Now Matters
60% of law firms plan digital system upgrades in 2025. Those who prioritise customer experience in disbursements will differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded market.
The technology exists. Platforms like Talli bring fintech-grade infrastructure to legal workflows. Real-time dashboards, multiple payment methods, automated compliance, bank-grade security.
Claimants have seen what's possible with fintech. They expect the same convenience, speed, and transparency from legal proceedings.
The legal industry stands at a crossroads. Continue with outdated processes that frustrate claimants and burden teams, or embrace the customer experience revolution that fintech pioneered.
For forward-thinking law firms, the choice is obvious. The future belongs to those who put customer experience at the center of their operations.
Full list of sources:
- Legal Futures – The rise of electronic payments within the legal industry
- Legal Clarity – How long does it take to get a settlement check from a class action
- Top Class Actions – Why is your class action settlement payout taking so long
- ZipDo – Real-time payments industry statistics
- Fintech Weekly – Revolutionizing transactions: the rise of real-time payment processing
- Fed Payments Improvement – New U.S. Faster Payments Council study forecasts instant payment adoption
- Maze – UX statistics (1)
- PYMNTS – More instant payment options increase customer satisfaction (1)
- PYMNTS – More instant payment options increase customer satisfaction (2)
- Maze – UX statistics (2)
- Webstacks – Fintech UX design
- Maze – UX statistics (3)
- Maze – UX statistics (4)
- UXCam – UX statistics (1)
- UXCam – UX statistics (2)
- OneAdvanced via Legal Technology – The digital transformation of the UK legal profession in 2025