It’s been a busy October at PYMNTS. The monthlong event, B2B Payments: Outlook 2030, has been putting an exclamation point on the fact that B2B payments are transforming.
The first week of the Outlook 2030 event centered on how platform and network models are impacting business payments. The second week covered interoperability and data standards. The third week landed on closed versus open networks. And we will end the month with the lifeblood of any company: cash flow.
As businesses look to modernize their payment processes, three core themes have emerged in shaping the future of B2B payments: digital transformation and automation; interoperability and solving for long-standing cross-border payment challenges; and the evolution of digital solutions optimizing payments beyond the transaction.
These three themes highlight the direction in which the industry is heading and provide a roadmap for organizations seeking to adapt and thrive in a digital and interconnected economy.
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“If you look at the cross-border payment space over the last five years, the payment volumes have grown,” Chandana Thanthrige of Bank of America told PYMNTS.
While digital transformation streamlines many aspects of B2B payments, cross-border transactions remain a complex area. Businesses operating globally face a fragmented payments ecosystem characterized by varying regulations, network infrastructures, and levels of technological maturity across different markets. These differences create friction, leading to lengthy settlement times and a lack of transparency in transaction costs and timelines.
“When it comes to B2B payments in emerging markets, one very interesting thing is that currently more than 70% of all companies are buying online, but just 30% of the payments are done digitally,” Eduardo de Abreu of EBANX told PYMNTS, adding that this imbalance highlights the friction in the payments process, including lengthy settlement times — often averaging 14 days — and the lack of visibility over transaction costs and timelines.
“Speed and transparency are the two biggest pain points,” de Abreu said, as every country has its unique network, regulations and technology maturity.
Andy Elliott of EvonSys and Tanja Haase of Swift told PYMNTS that improving the front-end experience for cross-border payments is critical. They noted that 80% of small businesses and consumers go to their banks first when they seek to make an international payment.
“The process is more complicated than it needs to be,” Elliott said.
Banks might say a payment will arrive at a foreign beneficiary’s bank account within three to five days. The costs may be as high as $40 a transaction, and the fees are opaque.
Many banks are investing in their payments technology and seeking to address the friction inherent in end-user experiences in the digital banking channels, but they need to upgrade the front-end portion of those experiences.
Interoperability and standardized data are critical in overcoming these challenges. Connecting different systems and networks can reduce delays and enhance visibility.
The goal is to create an interconnected global payments ecosystem where businesses can navigate complex regulatory environments, ensuring that international payments are as fast, transparent and cost-effective as domestic transactions. As progress continues, businesses will benefit from more predictable and efficient cross-border payment processes, supporting their global expansion and operational goals.
Read also: 59% of US Businesses Link Poor Cash Flow to Manual AR Processes
“Consumers have definitely embraced digital payments, but many businesses still rely on mailed invoices and paper checks,” Trina Dutta of American Express told PYMNTS. “And this is a big challenge in the industry because manual payments are more likely to result in late B2B payments. And these delayed payments have consequences.”
However, this reliance on outdated methods presents an opportunity for innovation, particularly as a new wave of technology, automation and strategic focus is changing the landscape.
“The B2B money movement space has not yet benefited from some of the real innovations,” Seamus Smith of FIS told PYMNTS, adding checks still account for “nearly 40%” of B2B payment volume in the United States, even though they are prone to fraud and reconciliation errors.
“Our Integrated Receivables product, for example, has reduced aged receivables by 20% and improved DSO by up to 15 days,” Smith said, adding automation also reduces resource utilization by 30%, allowing businesses to achieve better outcomes with fewer resources.
His comments were echoed by a separate Smith, Steve Smith of Esker, who told PYMNTS: “We’ve seen a growing emphasis on the need for DSO management.”
Esker’s Smith said rising inflation and fluctuating interest rates have driven companies to pay greater attention to DSO management as a key lever in ensuring business liquidity.
Innovative tools that use automation and artificial intelligence are being embraced, ultimately transforming how businesses approach their accounts receivable (AR) functions.
As businesses continue to embrace these technologies, the trend toward a fully digital and automated B2B payments environment is expected to accelerate, fundamentally transforming how organizations manage cash flow and financial operations.
See also: Window of Opportunity: Gaining AR Transparency Through Automation
The evolution of B2B payment solutions is about more than transaction efficiency. Digital solutions are designed to optimize the entire payment lifecycle, offering value that extends beyond simple processing. By focusing on the broader financial ecosystem, businesses are using technology to unlock additional benefits, such as enhanced cash flow management, improved supplier relationships and strategic financial management.
“As digital payments have advanced and the technology that surrounds the payment acceptance landscape has evolved, the ability to implement, adhere and administer a payment policy that is both tied and centered to a merchant’s corporate objectives has become increasingly more important,” Kunal Patel of Billtrust told PYMNTS, noting that this is even more crucial for firms handling large volumes of transactions.
“You might walk into the CFO’s office and find they have well-defined objectives, but when you dig into their payment policies, you find they’re not aligned,” Patel said.
On that same theme, PYMNTS sat down with Ernest Rolfson of Finexio, Marne Martin of Emburse and Loralee Bodo of Mastercard to dissect how strategic partnerships can better help businesses tackle industry challenges.
Optimizing payment processes can improve a company’s financial health and achieve organizational goals, and Finexio’s Rolfson said optimizing payments isn’t just about cutting costs — it’s about unlocking broader benefits like improved cash flow management and better supplier relationships.
It’s having an impact across areas, including sectors like healthcare. Adam Keck of Fifth Third Bank told PYMNTS that healthcare payables are burdened by the costs of paper-based payments, and often it costs more to send out those payments than the patient disbursements are worth.
“Everybody wants automation, but things are still not automated,” he said, and suppliers are still sending invoices.
Automation means more than just sending emails and PDFs.
More than half of companies still have manual workflows, even when they have parts of the invoice process automated. With these hiccups in the mix, healthcare firms are missing out on discount opportunities if they can pay early, Keck said.
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