Getting on board with B2B supplier ePayments

There’s no shortage of ways for businesses to pay businesses these days. But not all businesses can accept all payment methods from other businesses.

Look at how you pay your suppliers.

How many monthly payments does your business make to other businesses? What are some of your headaches that slow down your payments to other businesses? How many payments do you make that are not electronic? How much control and visibility do you have with your current payment processes?

If you had trouble answering these questions, we’ll run through ways to save you time and money.

Getting on board with supplier payments

We know that outdated, paper-based invoice payable processes have a terrible reputation when it comes to security, data integrity, and accuracy.

With manual payment processes, businesses lack the visibility and control to efficiently manage their payments.

In the past, businesses relied on manual payment methods to pay their suppliers. As credit cards grew in popularity, it minimised manual processes but led to high costs for businesses.

We’re now seeing businesses begin to explore other options for paying suppliers – electronic payments, also known as ePayments.

ePayments are real-time payments.

After the payment is processed, a notification of verification is sent between the sender and receiver, improving ease and visibility in the payment space.

What does this mean for B2B payment processing?

Businesses are now considering ePayments for faster B2B payment processing. B2B electronic payments have evolved to focus more on getting ePayments to suppliers in real-time.

With real-time B2B payments, businesses can pay suppliers instantly, keeping their ledgers and reporting updated.

For businesses with account payables, ePayments streamline the payment process from invoice to final payment without piles of paper.

Electronic invoices are received using accounting software like MYOB. After invoices have been approved, they’re automatically sent to payment processing.

The next big thing for B2B ePayments

Already, those ahead of the curve are looking at using machine learning tech known as Natural Language Processing (NLP) to make payments.

Think about how you talk to AI assistants like Siri or Alexa. Now, interactions are just that little bit off – and for stuff to make sense to it you always have to talk in a way which isn’t quite natural.

But, thanks to NLP they’re getting better all the time.

The way the tech is evolving, people will start to become very comfortable making payments using their voice from the comfort of their homes or offices.

As people start to feel more comfortable interacting with AI assistants in the home, their level of comfort will cross over into the office – and making B2B payments using an office assistant isn’t far behind.

Read: What will the payments industry look like in 2020

Why would you cut a cheque or take the time to clear an invoice from your inbox when you could simply ask Alexa to pay one of your suppliers?

This isn’t science fiction – this is the near future.

Just this advancement in NLP alone could spur a new wave of electronic payments in the B2B space, making them more timely.

Are you ready for what the future may bring?

Businesses interested in implementing online payments should contact MYOB PayBy.