Basware Enters the Early Payments Game

Now, the company has revealed its newest service: Basware discount.

In an announcement made Thursday (Feb. 19,) Basware revealed the new discount function for its Basware Commerce Network allowing buyers to make use of an early payment program and benefit from discounts from their suppliers in settling invoices before their due date.

For suppliers, Basware offers an assessment tool to determine the size of the discount they should offer buyers for early payment, calculated based on a maximum discount rate and the actual invoice due date, factoring in net payment terms, the company said.

There are three elements, Basware said, that make early payment programs a success: mature accounts payable processes that allow for quick invoice approve, electronic invoicing that promotes an efficient AP process, and networked purchase-to-pay that promotes the transition to an e-payments program . All three provide an efficient payment process for the buyer/supplier chain, and make early payment possible, Basware said.

Basware is the latest B2B payments solutions provider to offer an early payment tool for buyers. It’s a trend that takes note of the growing late-payment problem across the globe, which regulators have begun to tackle.

In the UK, some small- and medium-sized suppliers are reporting major corporations taking up to four months to pay their invoices, leading government officials to explore mandated B2B payment reporting.

Basware is no stranger to government procurement activities, including ones that could help to diminish the occurrence of late payments. Last September, the company became the first service provider to incorporate its operations within Belgium’s federal e-invoicing platform. The nation is moving towards mandated electronic invoicing within the government and wide-spread e-invoicing practices across corporate entities.​