Today In B2B: Visa Embraces Digital Currency For Corporates, Basware Enhances AP Offering

Today in B2B payments, Visa embraces the USDC digital currency for corporate payments. Plus, Basware enhances its accounts payable (AP) offering, CardUp eases commercial card adoption, Kofax adds new AP features and the Federal Reserve eyes bank lending.

Visa Teams With Circle on USDC Digital Currency Corporate Card

Visa is linking its 60 million-merchant-strong international payments network to the U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC), which Circle Internet Financial built, Forbes reported. Visa will provide a credit card that allows companies to make and receive payments with the digital currency once Circle graduates from Visa’s Fast Track initiative. Ultimately, firms will have the capacity to spend those funds with any firm that accepts Visa after they are changed to fiat.

Kofax Adds New AI Features for Accounts Payable

Intelligent automation supplier Kofax has announced new innovations for its invoice and accounts payable (AP) solutions, according to a press release. Kofax’s solutions, the release stated, help to boost the speed and ease of processing financial documents and data, including automation of time-consuming manual work and easy ways to connect financial systems. The new solutions will go further toward transforming AP processes with automation.

CardUp Eases Supplier Card Acceptance With Hong Kong Launch

Hong Kong businesses now have a way to pay suppliers around the world using credit cards – even if the payees don’t normally accept them – via a new solution from CardUp. CardUp, a Singapore-based digital credit card enablement platform, said in an announcement on Wednesday (Dec. 2) that it is expanding into Hong Kong with the launch of a new service that will enable businesses to pay overseas suppliers via credit card.

Basware Unveils AP Software Tools for ‘Power Users’

Basware has added a collection of functionalities meant for “power users” to its Accounts Payable (AP) Automation offering, according to a Wednesday (Dec. 2) announcement. These types of users handle a greater quantity of invoices than business users and conduct complicated invoice handling activities akin to AP workers. The additional functions offer a “desktop-optimized” look into all pertinent invoice data, enabling them to match bills with purchase orders and easily access coding tools.

Fed’s Quarles Says Banks Should Be Encouraged to Increase Lending

Are federal regulations putting a damper on bank lending amid the pandemic-driven downturn, or are bankers simply being too cautious? That’s a key issue that Randal Quarles, the top U.S. banking supervisor, will examine as he looks at why banks have not deployed more of their capital to support businesses and individuals during the lockdown, the Financial Times reports. Quarles expressed frustration that U.S. banks did not draw down their liquidity and capital buffers during the pandemic to support businesses and customers.

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