B-to-B payments

The deal will help the bank serve small-business customers that are shifting to digital payments.

The bank has agreed to act as a payment agent for the card brand's Track BPS to sign up participating businesses in the U.K. and Europe.

The fintech's new checking, savings and lending package caters to clients who want to separate their corporate accounts from personal banking.

The bank and card brand will combine digital connections for supply chain finance and corporate disbursements.

The bank anticipates strong demand from businesses that want to settle invoices faster. It also wants to get ahead of competition from fintechs offering similar services.

More than 250 wholesale clients signed up with the Pittsburgh bank in the past year to use real-time payments for payroll, billing and supply chain management.

ISVs that optimize B2B payments within their software solutions stand to save the day for merchants who want to grow but feel hamstrung with their current solutions, Ashley Jones of Global Payments Integrated says.

So far, mostly larger businesses are embracing digital payments, says Avidxchange's Cameron White.

The concept amplifies spending visibility from the center of the business way out to its edges, creating more transparency.

HSBC has extended its instant cross-border payments network to small and midsize businesses through a digital wallet built for storing and spending foreign currency.