65% of B2B Companies Offer Fully Digital eCommerce Capabilities

Interest in eCommerce channels and digital B2B payment solutions is rising, and digital-first commerce may soon outstrip in-person sales, along with the check and cash payments that come with them.

Sixty-five percent of B2B companies now offer eCommerce sales capabilities that let customers pay online, up from 53% a year ago, according to “The Treasurer’s Guide to AR Payment Optimization,” a PYMNTS and CheckAlt collaboration.

Get the report: The Treasurer’s Guide to AR Payment Optimization

With eCommerce becoming more widely available to B2B buyers, companies are coming to expect the same seamless, digital-first payment experience regardless of use case, including from their distributors.

Relying on Checks for B2B Payments

At the same time, many wholesale distributors still rely on checks — paper or otherwise — to conduct most of their B2B payments. Although paper check use has been steadily declining for the last few years, it still represents a key method many companies use to send and receive their money.

That’s placing an increasing strain on companies, as costly and time-consuming check payment processing could hamper cash flow or lead to payment delays that distributors can ill afford.

Nevertheless, many distributors are still reluctant to let go of checks fully, and they remain a dominant payment method throughout the industry.

Accepting and Reconciling Check Payments

With the payment needs of today’s wholesale distributors shifting, having the ability to accept and reconcile check payments more swiftly is critical.

Smaller wholesalers have been impacted by buyers’ shift to the large eCommerce companies, as buyers are now accustomed to sourcing their goods in that way, CheckAlt Director of Product Management Laurence Dunne told PYMNTS in an interview.

Read more: Wholesale Distributors up Their Tech Games to Compete With eCommerce Giants

Smaller wholesalers must meet customers’ new expectations, which don’t include paying the costs passed along by companies that still process checks manually. To help solve this problem, CheckAlt offers a solution that integrates directly with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) program that matches checks to bills automatically whenever a delivery driver scans one in.

“So, you don’t need that vast back office of people who are doing all of this manual work behind the scenes,” Dunne said.

Offering Seamless, Innovative Experiences

Many companies are still unaware of real-time or instant payment options despite the rising popularity of online payment solutions. Determining how to extend such awareness to businesses is a critical next step toward fuller adoption.

Wholesalers must move swiftly to ensure they are offering seamless, innovative experiences that stand out to potential clients, and avoiding any point of friction from delivery to payment is essential.