Visa Collaborates with Billtrust to Help Launch Business Payments Network and Redefine Digital B2B Payments
November 05 2018 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Supplier-Centric Approach Simplifies
Connectivity for Suppliers, Buyers and Financial Institutions
Visa (NYSE: V) and Billtrust today announced that they are
collaborating on Billtrust’s Business Payments Network (BPN), which
is designed to streamline the delivery of electronic B2B payments
to suppliers. As a unique supplier-driven B2B payments network, BPN
provides a transparent registry of suppliers who accept digital
payments, giving buyers and financial institutions the necessary
access to automate what has historically been a complex process.
BPN makes it easier than ever to harness the increased
efficiencies, greater security and lower costs associated with
processing digital payments, without needing to make significant
changes to existing infrastructure.
“As businesses evolve, digital payments will play an
increasingly important role in B2B commerce,” said Kevin Phalen,
global head, Visa Business Solutions. “Collaborating with Billtrust
on the Business Payments Network will allow us to improve the
experience for suppliers on the receiving end of the payment, while
enabling our financial institution clients to streamline the B2B
payments process for their corporate customers and provide a better
way for buyers and suppliers to realize the benefits that digital
payments provide.”
Recent estimates show that paper checks still represent roughly
51% of U.S. B2B payment volumes1. The ubiquity of check acceptance
in the U.S. has been a key reason it has remained the leading form
of payment despite its many disadvantages. Buyers and suppliers
have already recognized the advantages of digitizing payments,
including less manual touch, improved fraud controls and enhanced
reconciliation. However, the current lack of connectivity between
existing B2B payment platforms remains the largest barrier to
adoption. Suppliers simply don’t have the systems and processes in
place to accept the increasingly complex forms of payment that
buyers and their financial institutions want to send.
BPN is designed to address current industry challenges by:
- Providing a connected platform for
suppliers, buyers, financial institutions, and accounts payable and
accounts receivable software providers
- Publishing an online directory that
contains a full view of participating suppliers and their payment
acceptance preferences
- Providing financial institutions and
corporate buyers with ability to deliver digital payments directly
to the suppliers’ acceptance platforms
- Enabling complex financial and payment
data to seamlessly come together at scale while delivering
streamlined reconciliation to suppliers and buyers
“Today, suppliers have to balance their own payment preferences
with the preferences of their customers’ accounts payable
departments – and those two preferences don’t always sync up,” said
Flint Lane, CEO of Billtrust. “BPN is designed to close the loop on
the electronic payment cycle in a more transparent and secure way
to more closely replicate the way consumers today pay and get paid,
quickly, simply and seamlessly. Creating this type of customer
experience in the B2B space is extremely important to us and the
industry.”
“With estimates showing the U.S. B2B payments market in the
range of $24 trillion annually2, streamlining efficiencies by
adopting innovations such as virtual card payments and other
digital payment types can lead to billions of dollars saved,” said
Roger Williams, SVP of Commercial Card at Commerce Bank. “Our
corporate customers are looking for a solution that can
intelligently handle their evolving B2B payments needs and
preferences, while reducing costs and risks associated with
paper-based processes. We are excited that Visa and Billtrust are
working together to address these industry wide challenges.”
“There is a great deal of momentum now building around the
digitalization of corporate financial processes to improve cash
cycle control and performance, leading to reduced cost and risk,
along with gaining more strategic insight using captured
transaction data as an analytic base,” said Steve Murphy, research
director, Mercator Advisory Group. “This often starts with
paper replacement through electronic information exchange,
ultimately leading to an environment where buyers and suppliers can
make, receive and settle payments in a streamlined and transparent
manner. It is often easier said than done. This collaboration
between Visa and Billtrust, using a digital platform and business
network approach, is great way for companies to accelerate their
financial process modernization via a supplier-centric
approach.”
In 2017, Visa and Billtrust announced a strategic relationship
intended to support growth in B2B payments through the integration
of Billtrust’s Virtual Card Capture and Visa’s Straight Through
Processing solution. Billtrust’s BPN will further the multipronged
strategy Visa and Billtrust are pursuing to reduce friction and
streamline payment processes and reconciliation for financial
institutions, corporate buyers and B2B suppliers.
For further information about BPN, please visit paywithbpn.com
and stop by Visa’s booth 1517 and Billtrust’s booth 1602 at AFP in
Chicago, November 4-7, 2018.
1. Source: 2016 AFP Electronic Payments Survey.
2. Source: Visa Commercial Consumption Expenditure Index,
2015.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments.
Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative,
reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals,
businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing
network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the
world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction
messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is
a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any
device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future
for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to
digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and
scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information,
visit
AboutVisa,https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog.html
and @VisaNews.
About Billtrust
Billtrust accelerates cash flow by automating credit decisioning
and monitoring, invoice delivery, payment capture, cash
application, and collections. Billtrust customers improve
operational efficiency across the credit-to-cash spectrum via a
flexible and integrated cloud-based solution set. Finance
executives and A/R specialists love and recommend Billtrust for the
remarkable cost savings, ease-of-use, process efficiency, and
improved customer satisfaction rates. For more information, visit,
www.Billtrust.com.
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Visa Inc.Aida Hadzibegovic, 415-805-4242ahadzibe@visa.com
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