Today In B2B: Brex Pursues Bank Charter; Office Depot Bolsters B2B Strategy

Today in B2B payments, Office Depot strengthens its B2B eCommerce strategy with an acquisition, while Brex pursues a bank charter. Plus, Walmart Canada goes on the defensive over supplier fees, humm launches buy now, pay later for small businesses, and BCB Group rolls out a solution for treasurers to embrace crypto.

Office Depot Parent Buys BuyerQuest To Bolster B2B Strategy

The ODP Corporation, corporate parent of Office Depot and OfficeMax, has acquired BuyerQuest Holdings, which operates in the procure-to-pay space, the companies announced in a press release. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed in the release or in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Walmart Canada: Digital Shoppers Cause For New Supplier Fees

The CEO of Walmart Canada and another top executive are publicly defending the chain’s new assessment on suppliers of a 1.25 percent fee on all goods, and an additional 5 percent fee on eCommerce sales, Canada’s Financial Post reported. The fees have generated pushback from groups representing businesses such as farms that supply Walmart Canada, according to the report. The executives made the remarks quoted by the Financial Post in response to legislative efforts to impose new government controls on such arrangements.

Australia’s humm Debuts BNPL Solution For SMBs Down Under

hummgroup has rolled out its new buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution, tailored to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), a press release says. The program is referred to as a “business now, pay later” solution titled hummpro, and it purports to be accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted, either online or in person. The release says it will behave like a universal trade account.

BCB Group To Help B2B Treasuries Adopt Crypto

BCB Group, which works in global digital finance, has rolled out a new program to help get corporate treasury departments to embrace digital assets, per a press release. BCB works to provide business accounts and trading services for the digital asset economy. Companies have begun realizing the value of having bitcoin or other digital coins on their balance sheets as bitcoin’s price is still bullish.

FinTech Brex Applies For Bank Charter

San Francisco-based Brex, which makes financial management software for businesses, announced Friday (Feb. 19) it has filed to open an industrial bank in Utah, according to a press release. Industrial banks are distinct from other forms of banks in the U.S. in that they don’t need to be owned by bank holding companies. Brex’s bank, if approved, would be based in Draper, Utah, and would be called Brex Bank, according to the release