New Research: 56% of SMBs See Revenue Boost From Immediate Payment Platforms  

Brick-and-mortar retailers looking to expand into new territory and connect with commercial clients can use business payment models to attract new customers while also supporting their unique needs. 

By embracing digital innovations, businesses can seamlessly transact with other businesses without getting bogged down by paper-based legacy payment methods. 

In fact, 56% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) believe that using immediate payment platforms would boost revenues, according to the Innovating B2B Retail Payments Playbook. 

See also: Innovating B2B Retail Payments

“If there’s one thing today’s B2B buyers want, it’s fast, frictionless online payments,” TreviPay CEO Brandon Spear told PYMNTS in a recent interview. “They want the actual B2B payments process, complex as it is, to be as easy as the B2C ‘buy now’ experience.” 

Read more: The New Normal: B2B Payments Must Be Like B2C Transactions

Expanding Into the B2B Market 

Traditionally, B2C retailers looking to gain additional revenue streams from the B2B market have had to cope with the different set of expectations that B2B buyers have when making repeat purchases. 

Retailers that want to expand their services to business customers must do more than just accept said customers’ payment methods — they must also adjust to legacy B2B payment flows’ inherent delays. B2B cash flows are slower and less predictable than what those retailers experience during transactions with consumers.

Businesses must invoice their partners before any payments can be made. These invoices often trigger long, complicated internal review processes in which each organization’s relative employees must authorize the invoice payment’s initiation — and there is no telling how many payments there may be. Most businesses require at least two individuals to consent to pay invoices before the process can begin. 

These additional steps can take real tolls on B2B payments’ processing times. The length of time increases in proportion to the number of employees required to approve payment initiation. 

Supporting the Processes and Methods Preferred by B2B Buyers 

Further exacerbating the problem is the fact that many B2B payments are still paper-based, and these manual payments both move slower and cost more than those made electronically. 

Lack of speed is just one of several problems associated with using legacy B2B payment methods. Corporate cash flow managers can find their unpredictability even more frustrating and potentially damaging. 

These factors may seem like minor logistical details, but they can translate into major cash flow troubles if not properly managed. Adapting to long, complex and unpredictable B2B payment cycles can be tricky for B2C cash flow professionals who are accustomed to dealing with shorter and more even payment cycles. 

“If retailers can’t support the processes and methods of payment preferred by B2B buyers, they run the risk of losing the opportunity to serve this market,” Spear said when interviewed by PYMNTS for the Playbook. 

Seamlessly Transacting With Other Businesses 

But traditional B2C retailers don’t have to be bogged down with paper-based legacy payment systems as they seek to expand into the B2B market. Instead, they can implement digital accounts receivable (AR) innovations to seamlessly transact with other businesses without derailing existing payment workflows. 

Digital AR innovations that leverage technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can further reduce B2B transaction costs, while providing business customers with easier and more convenient payment experiences that closely resemble those in the B2C market. 

“Retailers can either offer in-house credit and add staff to AR departments or outsource to third parties,” Spear said. “By outsourcing credit and AR functions, B2C companies can capitalize on automated credit, invoicing, receivables and cash application processes, and get help with collections.”