Trading in Paper for Technology Tops This Week in B2B

The phrase “going digital” has transformed from a mantra to a business model. And at the same time, the transformation from paper-based processes to digital solutions has become not just a strategy but an imperative — one that is revolutionizing B2B payments and operations.

This shift isn’t just about capturing efficiency and unlocking greater operational leverage but is increasingly about reshaping the foundational processes behind how businesses operate, compete and grow. The ultimate vision? A day when gone are the stacks of paper invoices and forms dominating office spaces and slowing down processes while inflating costs. The transition to digital systems, ultimately, offers a streamlined alternative, where automation slashes the time and effort required for repetitive and manual tasks.

If all goes well, the future of business processes and B2B payments won’t look anything like its past.

That’s why PYMNTS keeps an ear to the ground, listening for all the latest initiatives. The top B2B innovation themes we heard this week were around the benefits of workflow automation, as well as how to unlock the opportunity of digitizing paper-based processes at scale.

Workflow Automation, Digitization Reduce the Need for Paper

Digitization doesn’t just change how businesses operate; it transforms how business operators think. The shift to digital B2B payment platforms enables the collection and analysis of vast amounts of data, offering insights that were previously unimaginable.

And with the news Tuesday (July 30) that B2B payments platform Monto has emerged from stealth with $9 million in funding, while expense solutions firm Emburse announced that same day that it has teamed with accounts payable (AP) company Finexio, PYMNTS examined how trading in manual processes for the benefits of a digital B2B payments ecosystem is key for businesses looking to get greater value out of payments.

Efficiency and cash flow are the lifeblood of modern businesses, and automated B2B payments are a shaping up to be a critical enabler of this efficiency.

“The procure-to-pay process has traditionally been super manual and heavily reliant on things like paper … Anyone who has ever sat in an accounts payable seat will tell you that the data entry is probably the biggest burden,” Melissa Johnson, head of operations at Ottimate, told PYMNTS in an interview also posted Tuesday.

Digital payments “are at least 14 times more cost-effective than paper checks,” Johnson said, pointing to the efficiency and security advantages of electronic transactions.

But B2B paper is still going to take a while to get rid of.

“We will eventually eliminate paper, but it won’t happen in the next five years,” Eric Frankovic, GM of corporate payments at WEX, told PYMNTS in an interview posted Thursday (Aug. 1). “The U.S. is still largely paper-based in many ways.”

Frankovic added, “Businesses must choose providers capable of handling a mix of payment methods, including ACH, wires and virtual cards, while providing consulting and support for paper checks.”

Read more: Automation or Information? Reducing Uncertainty in a Changing Business Landscape

“B2B transactions have traditionally had a slower approval process, and B2B players have been slower to adopt new technology. But what we’re seeing with a shift to digital is that there is now more data, more controls, stronger authentication coming into that B2B space, all the while bringing down the cost and improving the risk models,” Jennifer Marriner, EVP, Global Acceptance Solutions at Mastercard, told PYMNTS in an interview posted Wednesday (July 31). “We’re definitely seeing on the B2B side a realization that there’s a way they can streamline their business through embedded finance.”

And, as a bonus, less paper also means less fraud.

“A lot of fraud is in the checks. If you cut out checks, you cut 60% of fraud right there,” Ernest Rolfson, founder and CEO of Finexio, told PYMNTS. “We are laser focused on destroying the check, eliminating fraud risk, and delivering more card.”

The marketplace is responding to the need for B2B virtual card solutions. Mastercard and U.K. neobank Ampere teamed up to enhance the latter’s services for small businesses. The collaboration expands Ampere’s services and transfers offering, allowing its customers access to card-to-card payments, according to a Thursday announcement shared with PYMNTS.

Unlocking Downstream Digital Synergies

Potentially the best part about embracing digitization are the downstream benefits of having a modern, agile infrastructure.

And that includes B2B payments innovations, too. Asked by PYMNTS what the natural “progression” of use real-time payment cases might be, Keith Olson, vice president of ACH and online banking at Nuvei, said that although much attention is being paid on the consumer side of the equation, instant payments hold appeal for commercial and B2B transactions.

Corporate and treasury professionals find that the payables experience is still burdensome, and optimizing cash flow comes down to “timing” wire transactions at the right moment to suppliers, Olson said.

PYMNTS unpacked this week how the shift toward a greater convergence and potential synergies between the roles of finance and treasury reflects a deeper strategic alignment aimed at enhancing financial and business success.

After all, according to the latest PYMNTS Intelligence, a full 77% of treasurers believe that at least one department in their organization would benefit from closer collaboration with them.

Managing Risks

Digital isn’t without its own challenges and risks. As PYMNTS covered this week, fraudsters are drawn to compromised digital ecosystem like ants to a picnic — with disruptions like the recent CrowdStrike and Microsoft outage offering a perfect cocktail of urgency, uncertainty and money movement for scammers and fraudsters to exploit.

Against this backdrop, it is becoming increasingly critical for businesses to adopt a multi-faceted approach to prepare for and mitigate scams arising from digital disruptions.

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