Today in B2B Payments: 2 Firms Add New Services for SMBs

Today in B2B payments, Mastercard announces new and expanded benefits available to its small- to medium-sized business (SMB) cardholders, while U.S. Bank adds a cash flow projection tool to the online dashboard for its SMB clients. Plus, Société Générale is set to acquire a majority stake in PayXpert.

Mastercard Adds New, Expanded Benefits for Small Business Cardholders

Aiming to help SMB owners enhance their operations and boost their digital capabilities, Mastercard has announced several new and expanded benefits available to SMB cardholders in the United States. These include new partnerships with Adobe Creative Cloud, McAfee and Priority Pass as well as expanded benefits from ShopRunner, Stride, Uber Freight and Uber for Business.

US Bank Debuts Cash Flow Projection Tool for Small Businesses

U.S. Bank’s SMB clients will now find on their online dashboards a new banking tool that gives them a 90-day cash flow forecast. Irv Henderson, U.S. Bank’s chief digital officer for small business, said: “Giving our clients the ability to forecast their cash flow outlook, including, in the future, the capability to consider various scenarios, will provide them with vital information to make smart decisions for today and the future.”

Société Générale Set to Acquire Majority Stake in PayXpert

French multinational financial services company Société Générale has announced that it is to acquire a majority stake in London-based payment solutions provider PayXpert. The final acquisition remains subject to the approval of the relevant authorities. Together, the two companies intend to develop services for physical and eCommerce retailers encompassing payments and complementary services such as financing and insurance solutions.

Germany’s NORD/LB Will Use Trade Ledger’s LendTech Platform

German commercial bank Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) will use London-based Lending-as-a-Service FinTech Trade Ledger’s platform to originate and manage receivables finance facilities for corporate customers. NORD/LB Head of Markets Martin Hartmann said: “We are really excited to develop this into a unique proposition for our large corporate customers, working to provide data-driven working capital solutions on a digitized platform.”

Visa’s Ostrowski: Volatility, FX Challenges, Real-Time Payments Keep Treasury Role Interesting

With payments moving increasingly digital and across borders and real-time payments looming large on the global stage, you can’t exactly say life in a corporate treasury role is sedate. Yet Colleen Ostrowski, senior vice president and treasurer at Visa, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster: “There couldn’t be a better time to be a treasurer.”

Streamlined Corporate Cargo and Financial Flows Boost Trucker’s Profits

Trucking involves many parties, so the financial aspect needs to be automated as much as possible. Flock Freight Chief Financial Officer Pat Dillon told PYMNTS in an interview that Flock Freight uses artificial intelligence (AI) to pool freight and fill trucks, while also deploying a mix of proprietary technology to streamline accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR).

At Stanley Black & Decker, Finance Automation Replaces Finance Jobs

Declining profits at iconic tool maker Stanley Black & Decker recently led to cost-cutting layoffs, with reports the firm is laying off 1,000 finance employees amid larger cuts. The company’s commitment to cost-cutting manifests in the fact that Corbin Walburger, its current CEO, was previously the company’s CFO — and is likely well familiar with how automating and streamlining inefficient finance processes can lead to labor redundancies.

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