Giving Thanks, The B2B Payments Way

We’re all thankful for something this holiday season, but for those in the world of B2B payments, giving thanks isn’t your typical turkey-and-stuffing event. PYMNTS asked Bob Solomon, CEO of Software Platform Consulting and B2B payments guru, to tell us what he’s thankful for this season when it comes to business-to-business finance and technology; it may be the only Thanksgiving list to include paper checks and machine learning. Read the rest of what Solomon gave thanks for.

As a B2B Payments practitioner, I’m thankful for all the things that make the B2B opportunity as plump as a Thanksgiving turkey:

Paper Checks

Interchange

The odd fact that most “procure-to-pay” vendors do not actually do the “pay” part!

Venture capitalists willing to invest in the 155th alt-finance startup

Buyers who extend their payment terms for high cost of capital suppliers (as long as I am not one of their suppliers!)

Cross-border payments that continually grow at rates faster than global GDP

The correspondent banking system

Foreign currencies

Banking regulations (since I’m not a bank!)

The Internet (Al Gore), blockchain, big data, APIs and machine learning

Summary billing, partial shipments, rejections, VAT, duties, customs and other juicy “complications”

Global marketplaces

A government that tolerates relatively high levels of industry concentration

The beautiful math of multiplying almost any number by $20 trillion

Network effects

Being in the right country at the right time in history

On a more serious note, if you are able to read and appreciate this list, I’m guessing you have much, much more to be thankful for, as I surely do!

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Bear down, Chicago Bears!