85% of Large Retailers Look to FinTechs for Real-Time Payments Partnerships

The allure of real-time payments is not lost on retail giants. Nearly all retailers generating $100 million or more in annual revenues have embraced real-time business-to-business (B2B) payments. Fifty-four percent plan to make more of these payments in the next year.

These large retailers value more than just the speed of real-time B2B payments. Firms cited enhanced security and stronger buyer-supplier relationships as significant advantages of using real-time payments.

“Corporate Changes in Payment Practices: The Retail Industry is Ramping Up Real-Time Payments,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and The Clearing House collaboration, is based on a survey of 125 executives from retail firms generating annual revenues of $100 million or more. We collected responses from June 6 to June 26. The survey investigated the state of real-time B2B payments in the retail industry. We asked respondents about their firms’ current use of real-time payments and plans for future use, among other topics.

Other key findings from the report include:

Large retailers invest heavily in real-time payments and view them as crucial to their success, signaling a shift in B2B payment preferences.

Virtually all retail firms with annual revenues of more than $100 million have adopted real-time B2B payments. For 81%, making real-time B2B payments is very or extremely important to operations. Retailers generating between $100 million and $500 million are the most enthusiastic, as 89% indicate the method as highly important.

For the retail sector, real-time payments are more than just a quick payment method.

Retailers recognize the benefits that real-time payments have beyond payment speed. For example, 89% of large retailers cite enhanced buyer-supplier relationships as a benefit of this method. Most view the data protection and security of real-time payments as key advantages.

Retailers are more likely to partner with FinTechs than banks for real-time payment innovations.

Our research reveals that 81% of retail firms plan to enhance real-time payment offerings in the next year to meet growing demand. To do this, 85% of retailers say they will likely collaborate with FinTechs. Enthusiasm for partnering with traditional banks and card networks lags, while less than half are considering in-house solutions.

“Corporate Changes in Payment Practices: The Retail Industry is Ramping Up Real-Time Payments” examines the growing adoption and significance of real-time B2B payments among large retail firms. Download the report to learn more about the shift in the retail payments landscape.