Today in B2B Payments: Sesami Acquires Planfocus to Expand Cash Optimization Offering; Sabre Buys Conferma Pay to Meet B2B Travel Payments Need

Today in B2B payments, Sesami says its acquisition of Planfocus will enable it to deliver a true end-to-end tech-enabled cash ecosystem solution, and Sabre says its purchase of Conferma Pay will allow it to develop new technologies for B2B travel payments.

Sesami Acquires Planfocus to Expand Cash Optimization Offering

Aiming to offer an end-to-end, fully-integrated cash software solution, global cash ecosystem integrator Sesami Cash Management Technologies has acquired Planfocus, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based cash optimization software provider. “Integrated to our enterprise cash ecosystem software platform, Planfocus’ AI-based technology and strong team will further enable Sesami to deliver the only true end-to-end tech-enabled cash ecosystem solution to financial institutions and consumer businesses,” Sesami CEO Steph Gonthier said.

Sabre Acquires Conferma Pay to Meet Need for New B2B Travel Payments

Seeing a need for investment in technology in the B2B travel payment space, travel industry technology company Sabre has acquired U.K.-based payments company Conferma Pay. A Sabre spokesperson said the two companies have had a partnership in place for many years, as Sabre Virtual Payments is built on Conferma Pay. “We believe we are now well-positioned to expand on that proposition with Conferma Pay becoming a Sabre-owned entity,” the spokesperson said.

Verto Debuts Cross-Border Payments API

B2B cross-border payments company Verto has launched a new application programming interface (API) solution, which it says will help clients automate currency conversion, global payouts and beneficiary management. “As the industry embraces embedded finance, more companies outside of traditional financial organizations are beginning to provide financial services relevant to their existing products,” the London-based company said.

Real-Time Payments Adoption: Separating Fact, Fiction at Mid-Market Companies

Middle-market companies (those with sales from $20 million to $1 billion) have been relatively slow to adopt real-time payment technologies, even though they recognize and value the advantages. Their greatest concern about the method of payment is the biggest hurdle to adoption. Yet “Accelerating The Time to Realized Revenue,” a PYMNTS and Mastercard collaboration, indicates that this objection may be more myth than fact.

FinTechs Tackle Fleet Management’s Payments Roadblocks

As is the case with many B2B payments, processes in the trucking business have been very paper-based and difficult for drivers to complete. Vendors that support the ecosystem generally don’t have a point-of-sale (POS) capability that allows them to easily invoice and take payments, and the result has been a waiting game of phone calls, lost receipts and other hassles. But an emerging segment of the FinTech sector has set about tackling those obstacles.

New Data: 9 in 10 SMBs Say All-in-One Payment Platforms Save Time, Are More Convenient

Small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) face numerous pain points in making and receiving B2B payments, adding significant friction to accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) processes. An all-in-one payment platform can address many of these headaches. “The AP/AR Quick-Start Guide: How All-in-One Payment Platforms Can Transform B2B Transactions,” a PYMNTS and Plastiq collaboration, found that 90% of SMBs that adopted an all-in-one solution reported saving time in making payments, and 81% said the same about receiving payments.

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