Remittance Coalition Proposes B2B Payments “Phonebook”

The Remittance Coalition, an association of professionals promoting electronic business-to-business payments and data exchanges, is looking to launch a new platform to accelerate the group’s goals of more efficient business payments.

Reports said Thursday (March 5) that the Coalition announced the B2B Payments Directory, a proposed method to reduce B2B payments friction. Specifically, the platform would act as a sort of “phonebook,” the group said, for electronic payment information. As a secure database of payees, the Coalition said, businesses will more easily access the necessary data, including payee account information, to settle invoices.

Reports say the B2B Payments Directory would have to meet several criterion. Among those include the filing of accurate information, and the Remittance Coalition is looking to add this information through the introduction of an Electronic Payee Identification, which includes all necessary data for electronic payments to occur. The Identification would include basic information like address and contact information, as well as remittance specifications and account information, the group said.

Additionally, the database’s success would depend on trust and integrity among all payers and payees, strong security, remittance data and the ability for the platform to be flexible enough to integrate into businesses’ existing operations.

The Coalition has also introduced the idea of a nonprofit Directory Association to launch and oversee this director, a non-biased director to ensure a fair and secure platform for all businesses.

According to MineralTree CEO and President B.C. Krishna, as well as Republic Services Senior Treasury Operations Manager Patti Ritter, the platform is a push in the direction of faster and seamless B2B payments at a time when corporate payments often still depend on the check to complete a transaction. The Coalition’s proposal, the authors said, aims to eliminate barriers for B2B payments growth and innovation and to prevent payment defaults.