B2B Finserv Works Double Time To Target AR, AP Friction

With cash flow management more important than ever before, optimizing B2B payments is no longer a one-sided effort.

In this week’s examination of the convergence of accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR), PYMNTS looks at the latest products and services from B2B FinTechs and financial solution providers that work double time to tackle friction for both buyer and supplier.

Paystand Targets AP, AR With Biz Card

Although a solution designed for the corporate payer, Paystand‘s latest solution, its so-called Zero Card, aims to tackle friction for both AP and AR teams. The virtual corporate card solution was announced earlier this month as a tool to streamline employee spend, expense management and AP workflows. But in its announcement, Paystand said it’s not only focusing on the buy-side.

“One of the biggest challenges in B2B payments today is that AP and AR don’t share a common payment infrastructure,” Paystand said in its blog post announcing the Zero Card. “This leads to misaligned financial interests and creates a zero-sum mentality between payers (AP) and receivers (AR).”

In a statement, Paystand Vice President of Marketing Mark Fisher said the Zero Card “is the only solution designed for both AP and AR” that “natively connects these two groups, bridging the gap for B2B payments to deliver impact beyond cost savings.”

To connect that gap, Paystand said its card supports accelerating supplier payments while still providing payers with capital float, enabling enhanced cash flow management for both buyer and supplier.

Billtrust Broadens Business Payments Network

Less than two years after first launching the Business Payments Network (BPN) with Visa, Billtrust is expanding its B2B payments solution that connects buyers and suppliers to support seamless, integrated payments. The latest enhancements add ACH and wire payment capabilities into the network, with a focus on tackling friction for both buyer and supplier.

“Digital payments from buyers can often lead to more manual work for suppliers, whether it be extracting payment details from emails and web portals or reconciling potentially hundreds or thousands of settlements that do not carry remittance information,” said Billtrust Founder and CEO Flint Lane in a statement. “The organizations partnering with Billtrust and Visa that are taking advantage of BPN are truly making digital payments touchless for both buyers and suppliers.”

The added payment capabilities also provide greater choice for both buyer and supplier, with buyers able to easily identify which payment methods their suppliers prefer to find common ground between B2B partners.

Barclaycard Drives Insights for Buyers and Suppliers

With its new B2B payment service, the U.K.’s Barclaycard is focusing on both buyers and suppliers to help drive actionable insights. The launch of its Barclaycard Payment Intelligence solution aims to enhance the AP process through data analytics, wielding AP and third-party data to help corporates identify areas of opportunity to adjust payment behavior.

In optimizing supplier payments, AP teams can capture early payment discounts and better manage cash flow. But the technology is also helping suppliers, said Barclaycard, through boosting capital in-flows in the AR department, too.

“Barclaycard has looked to make use payments data to identify opportunities for improvements across the procure to pay process and drive actionable insights for both buyers and suppliers,” said Anna Porra, commercial strategy director for Barclaycard, in an announcement. “… This approach not only brings tangible benefits to the bottom line, but it also helps to strengthen relationships between buyers and suppliers.”

BillingPlatform Streamlines Collections With Eye on Payer

Collections and order-to-cash solution provider BillingPlatform recently rolled out its newest solution, CollectionsCloud, a collections solution for B2B and B2C companies, according to a press release.

Highlighting the cash flow challenges that many corporates face today as a result of the pandemic, BillingPlatform said that collections are critical to supporting sellers’ financial health. But in its announcement, the company also highlighted how it’s targeting the buyer-side of the B2B payment equation, particularly when it comes to maintaining a healthy buyer-supplier relationship.

“Today, cash collections have never been more important,” said Andrew Dailey, managing director of MGI Research, in a statement in BillingPlatform’s release. “Too many businesses handle collections via semi-manual or manual processes that lead to revenue leakage and customer dissatisfaction. Using a modern, enterprise-grade solution to automate collection activities based on risk, probability of success, and best practices, organizations can decrease DSO, reduce churn and improve customer relations.”