Simplifying B2B Payments in the digital era: Interview with Brandon Spear, CEO, TreviPay

By Edlyn Cardoza

Business-to-business payments or commonly known as B2B payments, is the payments or transactions that occur between two companies. Depending on the type of relationship shared between the two companies, B2B payments can either be recurring or a one-time transaction. B2B payment methods commonly include cash, ACH payments, paper checks, credit cards and wire transfers.

With digitisation, checks have been replaced by electronic transfers for consumers. But B2B payment options have been slow to adapt to the change. Due to the additional processes in place, B2B payments are more complex than person to person (P2P) or business-to-consumer (B2C). Modern business is upgrading the way B2B payments occur.

TreviPay is a global B2B payments company that helps businesses reach new heights by entering new markets, expanding their footprints, and globalising their opportunities while streamlining payments and improving cash flow. TreviPay is disrupting the credit industry by enabling companies access to robust payment and credit solutions, sophisticated managed services, and expert-driven integrations to power global commerce.

IBS Intelligence sat down with Brandon Spear, CEO at TreviPay, to discuss B2B payments in the digital era.

How does TreviPay simplify payments for B2B payments?

B2B retailers face immense competition, amplifying the need to offer payment solutions to drive revenue and support customer loyalty. As the only B2B solution designed for suppliers and merchants, TreviPay helps clients grow by streamlining B2B payments through a combination of innovative technology, service expertise and working capital to improve their customers’ experience and free up funding for growth. This is particularly important in B2B as business customers expect to purchase on-terms and will spend more frequently when they have a dedicated financial relationship and credit line with a business.

How does TreviPay reduce risk and ensure safety during payments?

As e-commerce accelerated during the pandemic, more customers were acquired online, leading to a growing risk of B2B business identity theft and other forms of digital fraud. Our recent research confirms this, as most B2B businesses (98%) shared that they have been affected by financial losses due to successful fraud attacks last year. By leveraging data to offer instant decisioning and credit, you can strengthen the relationship between buyers and sellers by providing sophisticated fraud detection processes and maintaining a strong track record for risk decisioning. TreviPay enables its clients to extend a risk-free credit line or net terms at checkout to a qualified business in under 30 seconds while simultaneously evaluating fraud and other risks.

Recently, TreviPay acquired BATON Financial Services. What does this acquisition mean for TreviPay?

TreviPay has long served our enterprise clients, offering B2B trade credit, billing, and payment solutions. The acquisition of Baton will enable us also to service smaller buyers – an essential sector of the economy that is too often underserved. We’ll be able to work with small businesses to help them better manage cash flow and unlock the capital needed to help them grow.

How does the use of BNPL impact B2B e-commerce?

B2B buyers have utilised BNPL-like solutions, such as trade credit and payment terms, to make large enterprise purchases for years. Now, B2B retailers and manufacturers are faced with modernising those BNPL transaction experiences to include digital and mobile purchasing options for B2B shoppers or risk losing them. We’ve found that 82% of B2B buyers would choose a vendor over others if that vendor offered invoicing at checkout with 30-, 60- or 90-day payment terms. Catering closely to the payments needs and preferences of B2B buyers, adopting BNPL offerings can also lead to growth opportunities in sales, cart size, conversion, and loyalty for B2B sellers.

According to you, what is the future of B2B payments?

Data personalisation, real-time data on payment flows and omnichannel access will be key for the B2B industry this year and beyond. A lack of accurate, real-time data on payment flows is driving up the cost of payments, and business buyers who require a variety of payment options, including net terms, expect their purchases to be transacted and trackable with the ease and convenience of an Uber transaction. This means that organisations must make customer financial data, such as available store credit and open invoices, accessible in multiple channels – i.e., in-store, online and even via a mobile app. When digitising accounts receivable, this could include automated onboarding to save a merchant time and cost by eliminating the need to email forms, make lengthy credit decisions and reluctantly use inefficient procedures such as creating PDF invoices or performing manual bank reconciliations.

What does TreviPay have planned in the pipeline for 2022?

B2B merchants and manufacturers must be closely in tune with the revolutionary changes to customer experience, engagement and convenience embraced by the rising digital generation and the evolving expectations accelerated by COVID-19. TreviPay will continue helping its clients meet these evolving customer needs while exploring new client segments, such as hospitality and cross-border opportunities.

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