This Week in B2B: Embedded Payments, Digital Tooling, Small-Business Success

Innovation and competition are constantly reshaping the B2B landscape.

The pace of transformation has financial institutions (FIs) and corporations increasingly seeking ways to bring their B2B payments processes up to date with the latest technology.

Given the economic volatility over the past few years and the ongoing tech explosion, it’s nearly impossible to find an aspect of business that’s remained constant — except for the need to pay, and be paid, in as efficient and expedited a manner possible.

That’s why better digital tooling for small businesses, cybersecurity imperatives for all businesses, embedded B2B solutions and working capital innovations sit at the heart of the B2B trends and themes that PYMNTS has been tracking this week.

Embracing the Impact of Embedded Payments Across B2B

As businesses of all sizes across verticals seek more efficient ways to manage payments and working capital, embedded finance is emerging as a transformative force in B2B commerce. That’s the view of Alan Koenigsberg, senior vice president and global head of large, middle market, industry verticals and working capital solutions at Visa, who told PYMNTS on Thursday (July 18) that consumer-like experiences online will help bring analog B2B interactions fully into the digital realm.

It’s a view echoed by Jim Colassano, senior vice president, RTP, product development and strategy at The Clearing House, who separately told PYMNTS on Wednesday (July 17) that embedded options have been transforming the very nature of B2B commerce.

Central to the discussion of innovations in embedded finance is the concept of working capital management. The recent period of rising interest rates has brought renewed focus to accounts receivable processes, after a decade of developments primarily centered on accounts payable and buyer-led solutions.

On the working capital front, eCommerce invoice funding firm Clearco has teamed with small-business-focused capital marketplace Boundless.

The partnership, announced Tuesday (July 16), is designed to provide working capital to eCommerce brands, with Clearco offering businesses outside their core target direct access to Boundless’ marketplace, and Boundless connecting eCommerce brands to Clearco to access funding in 24 hours.

Elsewhere, Transend and Midland States Bank have partnered to help suppliers offer their commercial customers instant access to working capital at the point of commerce. The companies will offer these dynamic payment solutions by leveraging Transend’s B2B private-label working capital solution, it was announced Monday (July 15).

Ensuring B2B Digital Transformation is as Secure as it is Beneficial

Today’s digital landscape has transformed the calculus around cybersecurity for FIs and corporations.

And with the news Wednesday (July 17) that the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) published a suite of resources to share with financial services institutions on effective practices for their secure cloud adoption journey, companies are weighing ways to bring financial and payments workflows securely and compliantly up to date with the latest technology.

The initiative, driven by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), aims to address several critical gaps identified in the Treasury’s report on the Financial Services Sector’s cloud adoption. These gaps include the need for a common lexicon, enhanced information sharing, better oversight, third-party risk management and improved transparency and monitoring of cloud services.

It comes after the news over the course of this week that Rite Aid, Disney and Squarespace each reported cyber breaches resulting in the theft of sensitive information. And that’s not including Friday’s (July 12) report that “nearly all” of AT&T’s wireless customers and those of the third-party brands that use its network have had their information stolen.

That’s why PYMNTS dug into how building a fault-tolerant organization that balances cyber prevention with response and recovery is so crucial.

Online Platforms Are Transforming B2B Processes

With cybersecurity bases covered, B2B businesses have a vast array of digital solutions and innovations to help streamline and optimize their operations.

For example, LexisNexis Legal & Professional launched its AI-powered research tool, Nexis+ AI, on Wednesday (July 17). The platform aims to transform how companies gather and analyze critical business information, leveraging generative artificial intelligence (AI) to sift through vast amounts of data at unprecedented speeds.

That same day, Slope secured $65 million in strategic equity and debt funding to scale its B2B payments platform for enterprise companies. The funding was provided by J.P. Morgan Payments, Y Combinator, Jack Altman and Max Altman’s new fund, Saga, Slope said Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Fleetio added two new integrations to its fleet maintenance management software. These integrations, with FuelCloud and Fill-Rite, will help businesses with on-site bulk tank fueling streamline fuel management, gain insights and optimize fleet fueling operations, the company said Tuesday.

On Monday (July 15), JTL-Software and Mollie partnered to provide enhanced payment options to merchants using JTL’s eCommerce solutions.

As the construction industry grapples with razor-thin margins and complex cash flows, PYMNTS unpacked how AI offers to reshape the industry’s financial landscape, one algorithm at a time. After all, it was just this Monday that Adaptive raised $19 million in a Series A funding round to scale its AI-powered financial platform for businesses in the construction industry.

The Big Impact of Digital Innovation on Small Businesses

Digital tools aren’t just reserved for monolithic multinationals — small businesses can capture new growth and unlock leverage using modern solutions, too.

Global data platform 9Spokes on Tuesday launched a new product designed to give small- medium-sized businesses (SMBs) automated, predictive cashflow management and forecasting capabilities.

Docyt, also on Tuesday, added an “AI bookkeeper” called GARY to its digital back-office solutions for SMBs. GARY is built on the Docyt AI software-as-a-service (SaaS) financial management platform that integrates expense management, revenue accounting, industry vertical reporting and financial reporting of key performance indicators (KPIs), the company said.

Simply Business has expanded its workers’ compensation insurance offering for small businesses by partnering with workers’ compensation provider Employers.

With this expansion of its offering, Simply Business can digitally quote and bind workers’ compensation policies for more than 300 different types of small businesses across all eligible states, the companies said Wednesday.

Arvo Tech has raised $2.5 million in a Series A funding round to deliver its tax strategy solution to more SMBs, the company announced Wednesday.

FIS launched a solution designed to help banks source, underwrite and fund loans to SMBs. The new SMB Digital Lending solution was created in partnership with small business financial solutions technology platform Lendio, FIS announced Tuesday.

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