B-to-B payments

While a business seeking payments and business management services could piece together what it needs from a few different providers, it's increasingly easier to find fintechs and startups demonstrating how all services can funnel through one platform.

The spending and account management capabilities of corporate prepaid cards have been given new purpose in a pandemic-struck world dependent on government and charity aid.

By adding direct debit from bank accounts as a payment option, YayPay feels it is in a far better position to help the accounts receivable departments of U.S. businesses expand international growth.

Even where there have been innovations in the B2B payments space, often it has not accounted for the needs of both sides of the B2B transaction, and thus, adoption has been slowed, says Billtrust's Nick Babinsky.

Given American Express was reporting a 95% hit to one of its core businesses less than two months ago, announcing access to the world’s largest digital payments market has to be a major sigh of relief — even if there’s still entrenched competitors, an international virus and a cold war to navigate.

Nobody knows what the next six to 12 months are going to look like. That means AP needs to focus on conserving cash while keeping operations moving, says Nvoicepay's Josh Cyphers and Derek Halpern.

MineralTree has retooled its platform so midsize corporations may process domestic and international invoices through one channel, and the firm has also formed a partnership with TransferMate to improve users' global currency payment options.

Inaccurate payments have plagued accounts payable and receivable departments from the time suppliers' contracts and invoices were stored in boxes and file drawers to the dawn of data-driven digital transactions.

As innovation proceeds faster than expected, small firms will need to work with larger firms to meet the new demand, sayd DealRockit's David Carmell.

The coronavirus dealt a double blow to procurement, cutting off both goods and money. Banks and e-commerce firms are relying on partnerships to tweak payment tools to rescue the market.