How Are Your Backup Plans?

​What do downed trees, a chainsaw, and a sump pump have to do with payments?

I learned the answer this past week after a huge storm in Northwest Indiana.

My mother-in-law lives there and needed help cleaning up after the storm.

The first task seemed to be cleaning up downed trees, so I learned to use a chainsaw, which is a little outside the payments skill set.

With the power out for a week, and with possibly another week before restoration, it occurred to me while sawing branches that maybe I should check the sump pump. It turns out there was no backup battery on her sump pump. So, guess who has been bailing a sump pit with buckets?

The American Society of Civil Engineers releases an infrastructure report card every year. In 2025 the United States got a C overall and a D plus for energy infrastructure.

So, how is your organization’s disaster preparedness? Have you taken a walk around your organizations “house” to see whether there are any branches that could fall and punch holes in your operations? Does your sump pump equivalent have a backup?

How long will your emergency plan last? Currently, the power company in my mother-in-law’s town is still assessing the damage and predicting it could be another 5 to 10 days before power is fully restored.

Big disruptions can come from things like the weather, a pandemic, or business disruptions. It is not that long ago when a processor change completely disrupted the operations of the Rush Card prepaid program. And of course, we all easily remember what happened when Synapse collapsed.

Disaster planning is part of every well-run organization, but companies should take the time to make sure that they are truly prepared. It is worth regularly checking the back up systems to make sure they will turn on in a crisis and thinking through what will happen if things get worse than you expect.

One other consideration should be added to the mix – how will you help others if they are affected by a disaster? Is there anything your company can do to help business partners in another area who might get hit by a storm or a cyberattack? How will you support your employees who have a tree on their house, but you need them to keep the company going?
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We assume that life will continue as normal until a big event shows us how fragile systems can be. Taking time to think about worst case scenarios can pay dividends when the storms inevitably hit. 

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Ben Jackson is the Chief Operating Officer of the Innovative Payments Association, a leading trade association representing companies in payments. With over two decades of industry experience, Ben is dedicated to providing valuable information, advocacy, and support to help members improve financial outcomes for consumers, businesses, and government agencies.