AP Automation a Top Priority for Gig Economy Firms

The emergence of online marketplaces and platforms has made it possible for the gig economy to flourish.

After all, it is the online channel through which all manner of freelancers can find the ways and means to advertise their services and products, set terms, and get paid.

It is the payments functionality — the ability to get those freelancers compensated in a timely fashion, in the currencies and payments modalities they prefer — that can be a competitive edge.

And in the “Accounts Payable Automation: Why Gig Economy Companies See Payables Innovation As Key To Success,” report, a collaboration with Routable, PYMNTS surveyed 204 executives from gig platforms to examine their plans to use automation to scale payouts at scale, globally.

As many as 87% of gig economy companies expect their payables volume to grow more than 10% through the next three years.

But there are legacy processes and technologies in place that hamper the ability of these companies to meet gig workers’ payments expectations.

Read also: Automating AP Operations a Boon for Online Marketplaces

More than a quarter of gig economy companies identify inefficient communications with vendors as a key challenge and say it is highly important to automate their AP systems to increase their processing capacity. A significant number of these firms — 83% — say they can’t make payments in vendor-preferred currencies.

To that end, as many as 75% of gig economy companies say that speed of payables counts as among the key benefits of upgrading their payables functions.