B-to-B payments

The move to faster processing has a lot of names, but the most important advancement will be the certainty that the transaction was successfully completed, writes Gene Neyer, head of industry and regulation at Finastra.

Another goal of the integration is to encourage more small businesses to convert from paper to electronic payments.

Most executives see the value of the technology, but are still looking for definitive use cases before taking the leap.

With midsize businesses still handling the majority of their accounts payable via checks, large corporations are reaping the benefits of digital or card payments. A lot of this has to do with a misunderstanding of the options available to them.

In its continuing expansion of the Visa Ready faster certification program, the card brand is targeting technology companies that develop software for Visa's business-to-business payments services.

There is an expanding array of choices to reduce paper checking, add speed and reduce cost from billing.

Many companies in the payments industry see B-to-B transactions as ripe for modernization, and Mastercard is no exception. Its recent participation in a $300 million funding round in AvidXchange enables a new approach to this market.

Merchants increasingly sing the praises of analyzing customer payment data to learn more about spending habits and deliver customized offers through mobile devices. American Express is kicking off a project to do the same with corporate travel data.

As the gig economy expands, at least some consolidation is inevitable. As a result, companies that already have complex webs of payments, billing cycles and workflows will need a way to merge their systems with those of their acquisition targets.

Business are still reluctant to automate payments and billing, though that can hurt companies financially, writes Daniel Andrew, a vice president at Corecentric.