For decades, B2B payments have been a quiet but essential part of corporate finance.
Now, B2B payments are starting to get a little more appealing as executives realize that the keys to the kingdom are often buried in the back office.
Businesses are reevaluating the nature of financial transactions and aiming for systems that are not only efficient, but also agile and able to adapt to changing economic and regulatory conditions.
That’s the reality that’s taking center stage this month in four weeks of B2B-focused panels where industry experts share their thoughts on the technologies, strategies, and collaborations that are reimagining the possibilities for commercial payments.
The evolution of automated B2B payments
Industry executives I spoke to at PYMNTS’ month-long event, B2B Payments: Outlook 2030, believe financial leaders can move beyond traditional cost savings and unlock more value from payments as a driver of growth. I agree.
What about the prey? With a traditional manual back office, that’s nearly impossible.
Manual payments are not only inefficient, they can lead to errors, create friction, and disrupt cash flow. This can put a company’s bottom line at risk and damage business relationships.
“While consumers are undoubtedly embracing digital payments, many businesses still rely on mailed invoices and paper checks,” said American Express Vice President, B2B Solutions and Global Commercial Services. general manager Trina Datta told PYMNTS. “And this is a huge challenge for the industry because manual payments are likely to result in B2B payments being delayed. And those payment delays have consequences.”
The PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Business at Risk: The High Cost of Manual AR Processes and What to Do About It,” showed how implementing B2B payment automation is essential to survival and growth.
“As digital payments advance and the technology surrounding payment acceptance environments evolves, the ability to implement, adhere to, and manage payment policies that are tied to and centered on merchants’ corporate objectives becomes increasingly important. ” said Kunal Patel. BillTrust’s general manager of payments told PYMNTS, noting that this is even more important for companies that handle high volume transactions.
B2B payments are no longer just a back-office problem, but are front and center for businesses looking to streamline their operations. Finexio CEO Ernest Rolfson, Emburse CEO Marne Martin, and Mastercard Senior Vice President of Commercial Solutions Loralee Bodo learn more about how PYMNTS and strategic partnerships can better help companies address industry challenges. I explained it.
“It’s not just about digitizing payments, it’s about rethinking the entire procure-to-pay process,” Bodeau said.
What’s next for B2B payments?
The trends and themes tracked by PYMNTS are driven by innovation across the market.
HoneyBook on Wednesday (October 16) announced an expanded suite of financial tools that can be integrated into its customer relationship management (CRM) platform for independent businesses. The new HoneyBook Finance includes a HoneyBook Business Checking Account, HoneyBook Visa Business Debit Card, payments, cash flow management and savings tools.
Elsewhere, commercial card fintech Pivot Payables began integrating with American Express on Tuesday (October 15). Now American Express business and corporate cardholders can generate virtual cards within PivotLynx, Pivot Payables’ accounting automation application, and receive requests for budget approval and costs from managers. Become. accounting.
Also on Tuesday, Ghost said it had raised $40 million in a Series C funding round to continue expanding its members-only B2B marketplace that connects brands and retailers to facilitate the buying and selling of surplus and wholesale inventory. Announced.
Security is a key element of B2B payments innovation, and as fraudsters become increasingly sophisticated, Swift is enhancing its artificial intelligence-powered fraud detection capabilities. The global messaging service announced on Wednesday (October 16) that it will begin offering the service to payments sectors in January, following a pilot earlier this year and collaboration with banks around the world.
In other Swift news, Andy Elliott, vice president of strategy at EvonSys, and Tanja Haase, global product lead for payments experiences at EvonSys, told PYMNTS that EvonSys is working to improve the front-end experience for cross-border payments. said it was important. Haas and Elliott pointed out that when 80% of small businesses and consumers want to make an international payment, they first go to a bank.
“This process is more complicated than it needs to be,” Elliott said.
The bank may say that the payment will reach the foreign recipient’s bank account within 3 to 5 days. Costs can reach $40 per trade, and fees are opaque.
As many banks invest in payments technology to address the friction inherent in end-user experiences in digital banking channels, they need to upgrade the front-end portion of those experiences.
“If you look at the cross-border payments space over the past five years, payment volumes have increased,” said Chandana, Managing Director and Head of FIG and Transactional FX Products APAC, Bank of America’s Global Payment Solutions.・Tansuriji told PYMNTS.
However, with this growth, managing market volatility, regulatory compliance, and cross-currency risk remains a challenge for treasurers.
For all of our PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to our daily B2B newsletter.
Details: American Express, Andy Elliott, automation, B2B, B2B payments, Bank of America, Billtrust, Chandana Tansreege, commercial payments, cross-border payments, digital payments, Emburse, Ernest Rolfson, EvonSys, Finexio, fraud, financing, Ghost, HoneyBook, Investing, Kunal Patel, Loralee Bodo, Marne Martin, MasterCard, News, Pivot Payables, PYMNTS News, Fraud, Security, SMB, SWIFT, Tanja Haase, Trina Dutta
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