Your business relies on payments to keep going—and now the need for fast, efficiently processed payments is more important than ever because of logistical challenges as well as the economic challenges brought on by the pandemic.
To stay competitive, businesses of all sizes across industries must figure out how to adapt. That means embracing the efficiencies of digital payments.
While digital payment processes are not new, some companies have been slow to adopt them for a variety of reasons. According to the American Express One AP Survey, a whopping 79% of small- and medium-sized businesses were still making at least some payments with paper checks before COVID-19.
Yet since the start of the pandemic, 29% agree that both working remotely and contracting with vendors whose offices are remote has made it increasingly difficult to make payments via paper check. This is just one area where digital payment solutions like Synaptic, MineralTree or Vendor Pay by Bill.com with the ability to integrate an American Express virtual card, can be meaningfully beneficial: They enable seamless payments and invoice reconciliation digitally, regardless of the physical location of your team.
Smart businesses are catching on. Since experiencing the impact of COVID-19, 35% of small- and medium-sized businesses report they are considering changing how they process payments.
And now with COVID-19 and the increase in remote work, more businesses are going digital, which means that businesses who want to keep up with their competitors will need to do the same. The survey confirms businesses tout four advantages, including increased efficiency and time savings (68%), improved payment accuracy (43%), long-term cost savings (37%), and improved cash flow management (34%). Not only does payment automation directly improve your bottom line, but it’s also good for employee morale because it reduces the monotonous tasks that go hand-in-hand with manual payment methods.
With multifaceted advantages like these, one thing is certain: Digital payments are the current state of the art for B2B operations. They are a proven and powerful efficiency tool, and now with the realities brought on by COVID-19, going digital is no longer optional—it’s necessary.
