> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.ingopayments.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Partnership Onboarding

> What to expect from your first conversation with Ingo Payments through to live disbursements — timelines, phases, and key milestones.

Becoming an Ingo Payments partner is a structured, collaborative process designed to move efficiently from initial interest to a live, production-ready disbursement program. This page walks you through what to expect at every stage — who's involved, what happens, and how long it takes.

***

## The partnership journey

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Step 1 — Discovery & Qualification">
    Ingo's business development team identifies prospective partners whose use case
    aligns with our disbursement capabilities. An introductory meeting is scheduled
    to understand your business need and explore how Ingo fits. If the opportunity
    is qualified, a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (MNDA) is executed to enable
    open technical and commercial discussion. Your Ingo Account Manager then leads
    a structured discovery of your disbursement program — payment volumes, recipient
    populations, payment rails required, and any industry-specific considerations.
    This shapes the scope of the proposed solution.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Step 2 — Technical Solutioning">
    Your Ingo Integration Manager joins to explore your architecture, integration
    approach, and technical requirements. Initial decisions around payment rail
    selection, authentication model, webhook architecture, and configuration options
    are discussed. A draft solution document is developed alongside preliminary
    pricing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Step 3 — Compliance Prequalification">
    Ingo's Compliance and Risk team conducts a preliminary review of your program
    to assess alignment with Ingo's risk standards, payment network requirements,
    and regulatory obligations. This is a lightweight initial screen — not the full
    compliance review, which occurs later.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Step 4 — Executive Proposal of Partnership Intent">
    Final pricing is confirmed and a formal proposal is prepared and sent for
    signature. Once countersigned, the deal moves to implementation. Your signed
    proposal and discovery documents are handed off to Ingo's onboarding team,
    and a warm introduction to your Integration Manager is made.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Step 5 — Implementation Kickoff">
    A formal kickoff call establishes the implementation timeline, assigns owners
    on both sides, and confirms your technical architecture and configuration
    selections. Ingo grants access to a secure shared collaboration folder and
    begins sandbox environment setup.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Step 6 — Legal, Compliance & Integration Build">
    The full legal and compliance review runs in parallel with your integration
    build. This phase includes execution of all required agreements, third-party
    provider contracts, payment network registrations, and Ingo's due diligence
    process. Your development team builds against the Ingo sandbox environment
    using your credentials, configured webhooks, and custom domain setup.

    <Warning>
      **Developer resource assignment is a critical factor in achieving the
      timeline established at kickoff.** Delays in committing dedicated development
      capacity are the most common cause of implementation timeline slippage.
      Ingo recommends confirming your assigned developer(s) before the kickoff
      call and ensuring they are available to begin work immediately. Your
      Integration Manager will flag resource availability as a dependency at
      kickoff and throughout this phase.
    </Warning>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Step 7 — Build Testing">
    Your team completes internal testing of your application and processes against
    the Ingo sandbox. Ingo provides test plan documentation and guidance. Custom
    configuration selections are validated — including risk controls, authentication
    modes, and account type support.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Step 8 — Certification Testing">
    Ingo conducts formal sandbox certification testing to validate your integration
    against Ingo's requirements. Successful certification is required to advance to
    production. Your Ingo Integration Manager reviews results and confirms readiness.
    Final risk configuration elections are collected.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Step 9 — Production Launch">
    Your production environment is configured — credentials, custom domains, webhook
    endpoints, and any SFTP setup are established. Your pre-fund bank account is
    opened and funded via wire. Invoicing processes, replenishment procedures, and
    internal program support structures are confirmed on your side. Your Ingo
    Integration Manager then coordinates the production release, validates
    end-to-end functionality, and confirms all systems are operating as expected.
    Production release testing is completed before your program is formally declared
    live.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Step 10 — Post-Implementation Support">
    Following go-live, your program transitions to Ingo's dedicated support team.
    Your Account Manager remains your primary relationship contact for program
    growth, configuration changes, and escalations.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Timeline

Timeline from proposal signature to live — including network registrations,
compliance approvals, bank approvals, and legal agreement execution.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Standard Integration" icon="clock">
    **4 – 6 weeks**

    Typical for single-rail implementations with straightforward compliance
    profiles. Examples include push-to-card or ACH disbursement programs
    with established program structures.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Complex Integration" icon="clock">
    **8 – 12+ weeks**

    Multi-rail programs, novel use cases, programs requiring extensive
    payment network registrations, or clients with more involved compliance
    and legal review processes.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Info>
  Timelines begin with scheduling of the Implementation Kickoff call post proposal
  signature and depend on the responsiveness of both parties, third-party approvals
  outside Ingo's control (payment networks, banking partners), the complexity of
  your compliance profile, and the availability of your dedicated development
  resources. Your Integration Manager will establish a detailed project timeline
  at kickoff.
</Info>

***

## Who's involved

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Ingo Payments Team" icon="building">
    * **Account Manager** — your primary commercial relationship contact throughout the partnership
    * **Integration Manager** — leads your technical implementation from kickoff through go-live
    * **Compliance & Risk Officers** — oversee regulatory review, due diligence, and ongoing risk management
    * **Legal Counsel** — manages contract execution and agreement review
    * **Support Team** — provides ongoing operational support post-launch
  </Card>

  <Card title="Your Team" icon="users">
    * **Program Stakeholder** — executive sponsor accountable for the partnership and program outcomes
    * **Project Manager** — coordinates timelines, dependencies, and cross-functional alignment
    * **Product Manager** — defines use case requirements and configuration decisions
    * **Development Team** — builds and tests the integration; availability from kickoff is critical to timeline
    * **Legal Counsel** — reviews and negotiates agreements
    * **Compliance & Risk Officers** — supports due diligence and regulatory requirements
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## What to prepare

The more prepared your team is at kickoff, the faster your implementation moves.
Consider having the following ready before your kickoff call:

<Info>
  **Before your kickoff call, we recommend having:**

  * A clear description of your disbursement use case and recipient population
  * Estimated monthly payment volume and average transaction size
  * Preferred payment rail(s) — card, ACH, check, PayPal, Venmo, or a combination
  * Your technical architecture — existing systems, APIs, and integration approach
  * Developer(s) identified and available to begin work immediately following kickoff
  * Internal contacts confirmed for legal, compliance, and development
  * Any known regulatory, network, or banking requirements specific to your industry

  Your Ingo Account Manager can help you think through any of these before
  the formal kickoff.
</Info>

***

## What the onboarding process covers

Your Integration Manager will guide you through four structured phases:

**Legal, Compliance & Third-Party Agreements** — contract execution, implementation fee, third-party provider agreements, Ingo due diligence, and payment network registrations are completed before technical work begins.

**Product & Marketing** — your advertising approach, projected payment volumes, and sub-client onboarding procedures (if applicable) are reviewed and documented to ensure your program is designed for scale.

**Sandbox Implementation & Testing** — Ingo configures your sandbox environment with credentials, custom domains, webhook endpoints, and SFTP. You build and test your integration against this environment, complete Ingo's test plan, and receive formal sandbox certification approval before a production promotion decision is made.

**Production Release & Ramp** — Your Integration Manager works with your team to plan and coordinate the production go-live. This includes release sequencing, a phased rollout approach if applicable, initial transaction ramp targets and volume milestones, and monitoring expectations during the ramp period. Projected payment volumes and ramp timelines are documented and agreed upon so both teams have aligned expectations going into launch. Escalation contacts and support handoff are confirmed before your program is declared live.