Amex and Boost Join Forces on Virtual Card Processing

American Express has teamed with Boost Payment Solutions to provide commercial virtual card processing services.

The offering, open to U.S. merchants that accept American Express (Amex), provides access to Boost’s straight-through-processing (STP) solution Intercept, the companies said in a Tuesday (Oct. 1) news release.

“This collaboration will enable suppliers to streamline acceptance of American Express virtual cards and minimize the challenges associated with manual processing of virtual cards,” the release said.

“While virtual cards offer a dynamic payment option that replaces a physical card number with a tokenized, one-time-use digital version, in B2B payments, some suppliers are still processing virtual card payments manually, including the opening of each email and copying the tokenized card number in their point-of-sale (POS) terminal.”

With Boost Intercept, the release said, the process is automated, doing away with the manual work involved in processing virtual card payments via email, thus shortening the time between when a payment is authorized and when funds settle, helping improve cash flow management.

PYMNTS spoke recently with Rebecca Schultz, chief marketing officer at Boost, about the way many businesses are still behind when it comes to embracing digital-first payment processes.

“Almost half of B2B payments are still made via check, which blows my mind in terms of the technology that exists now,” said Schulz, who spoke with PYMNTS for the “What’s Next in Payments: How Do You Do Digital?” series.

In spite of a decade of consumer transactions going digital, B2B payments are still largely manual, with a staggering percentage of transactions still depending on checks.

The perception that digital payment systems, especially commercial cards, are costly and complicated has often held businesses back from making the switch. Schultz said this belief is misleading.

The digital transformation process can be smooth and cost effective, offering up operational and financial benefits, provided companies have the proper solutions and partners.

“It doesn’t have to be a two-year tech cycle,” Schultz said, arguing that a quick and simple implementation can produce results for organizations ready to transition. With a streamlined, fully digital process, businesses can be using digital payments within days.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS spoke earlier this year with Paul Christensen, CEO of B2B payments accelerator Previse, who discussed the obstacles facing virtual card adoption: while 80% of buyers favor virtual cards, their use accounts for only 2% of accounts payable transactions.

As Christensen told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster, the situation recalls a prevalent business adage: “80% of company failures are due to cash flow issues. The uncertainty of waiting and chasing for payment is a real problem, and virtual cards, with the right tools, could solve that.”