Newest technologies are driving the B2B payments space

By IBS Intelligence

More companies are asking banks for an embedded financial experience, than ever before. It’s expected that APIs will have the biggest impact on B2B payments over the next two to three years, with both larger (51%) and smaller (39%) companies identifying this as their top choice, has found the Bottomline 2022 B2B Payments Survey.

An embedded finance experience within ERPs is now an expectation that customers have with demand for this rocketing to 39% in 2022 from 29% in 2021. This increased interest in embedded solutions highlights the growing importance of customer convenience and open communication with their banks and financial institutions.

The annual survey, this year in its 6th edition, polled 801 executives from banks and corporates globally and found small and large companies agree that fraud detection/prevention (34% v. 33%) and cash flow forecasting (45% v. 39%) technologies are where they intend to invest significantly over the next 12 months.

“The sixth iteration of the B2B Payments Survey has pointed out that banks listen to the changing payments needs of their corporate customers. Over the last year, we have seen more banks offering solutions surrounding APIs, cash flow management and cash forecasting for their customers,” said Gunita Bindra, Vice President of Product Management and Partnerships at Bottomline.

“As the demand for B2C payment solutions continues to grow globally, the bar for better B2B solutions is being effectively raised. This year’s survey responses are a testament to that, with companies also paying increasing attention to ease of use for innovative payment technologies,” she added.

Additionally, the survey revealed that more AP systems were breached in 2022. Compromised payable systems and processes increased from 7% in 2021 to 11% in 2022, with 8% of breaches connected to an insider/employee. Around 21% of larger companies experienced one or more losses, with 11% of small companies suffering at the same level. 13% of larger companies had two or more losses in the past year.

For small companies, that number was 5%. In general,  bigger companies are more attractive targets, simply because they have more resources, but they should have better defences. Smaller companies don’t have the same intensity of fraud attacks, although they are generally perceived as weaker/more vulnerable. It could mean that fraudsters are becoming more aggressive and going where the big dollars are.

“Once again we see that securing information and processes in B2B payments continues to be at the top of the mind for treasury and finance practitioners. This is a rational response,” said Craig Jeffery, Founder and Managing Partner of Strategic Treasurer. “As technology develops and its adoption advances, strong fraud prevention and mitigation features are necessary components of any solution aimed at easing the burdens and reducing the errors of the status quo. Manual processes and siloed controls are no longer commercially reasonable approaches. Automation is key to efficiency and security for the future of treasury payments.”

Key highlights

• Large and small companies identified that security (66% v. 50%), ease of use (55% v. 47%) and breadth of functionality (48% v. 25%) have the highest impact on their decisions to use an innovative fintech solution
• 14% of North American companies suffered one or more losses due to serious fraud attempts, with 21% of large corporations experiencing one or more losses compared to 11% of smaller businesses
• Banks that now offer B2C payment solutions have risen from 29% of respondents in 2020 to nearly half (46%) in 2022