Bottomline Technologies’ Survey Finds Partnering with Fintechs is Leading Strategy for B2B Payments Innovation and Growth
May 14 2019 - 9:00AM
Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY), a leading provider of
financial technology that helps make business payments simple,
smart and secure, today announced the release of the 2019 B2B
Payments and Working Capital Management Strategies Survey in
partnership with Strategic Treasurer. Among the key insights from
the comprehensive study, survey results show that across the B2B
payments landscape, partnering with fintechs will be the strategy
of choice for a majority of banks and a growing number of
corporates.
According to the survey results, three in four banks (76%) are
either looking to leverage fintech solutions as much as possible
for payment-related services and solutions, or are doing so to
deliver select niche capabilities to specific customer segments.
Related to this, 28% of corporates indicated that they use a
non-bank provider for payments currently, and nearly one in three
corporates (32%) plan to expand their use of fintech payment
solutions within the next three years. In the same B2B Payments
study conducted two years ago, less than one in five corporates
were using non-bank payment solutions. These findings underscore
the growing acknowledgement of fintechs’ ability to deliver best-of
breed payment capabilities, and the increased opportunity for banks
to partner with these providers to meet client demand across all
aspects of B2B payments.
The third annual 2019 B2B Payments Survey polled more than 300
financial professionals from companies of all sizes and industries
spanning both North America and Europe. The survey was conducted
from January to March of 2019. “Whether you’re a bank or a
corporate, fintech payment solutions need to be given a serious
examination,” said Craig Jeffrey, Managing Partner, Strategic
Treasurer. “Banks and corporates stand to benefit from aligning
with fintech solution providers across all aspects of payments to
arm themselves with the capabilities required to stay
competitive.”
According to the survey, there is variation in which aspect of
B2B payments businesses focus on depending on their size. Small
companies are twice as likely to focus on accounts receivable (AR)
initiatives compared to their larger peers which are more likely to
focus on payables. For organizations of all sizes, top areas of
remaining inefficiency across treasury, AP and AR include cash
forecasting, invoice processing, and payment receipt and
reconciliation. The changing payments technology landscape
continues to remain a focus for banks and corporates, with
additional findings including:
- The survey finds that faster and emerging payments are gaining
traction, as nearly half of corporates are using or interested in
using new payment services. Among these new payment services, the
top focus is real-time payments (55%), followed by Same-Day ACH
(44%) and block chain based networks (35%).
- Both banks and corporates agree that APIs are the technology
that will have the biggest impact on the B2B payments landscape
over the next two to three years.
- 76 percent of banks indicate that their corporate customers are
asking for automated B2C payment services. One-third of banks
already offer these services, and another 48% are evaluating
them.
- 13 times more corporates indicate their comfort level with
mobile payments has improved vs. deteriorated over the past year,
highlighting a consistent trend of rising comfort.
The report also found that payments security
continues to be top of mind, with Treasury indicating that fraud is
their top payments-related challenge and Accounts Payable (AP)
representing the source of the majority of fraud losses. Data shows
AP suffers a loss from payments fraud three times more frequently
than any other department. This may stem in part from the
difficulty AP faces when managing and updating vendor bank account
details, with 55% of respondents indicating this is their top AP
pain point. As organizations continue to make the transition from
fraud-prone paper checks and manual vendor bank account management
to electronic payment networks managed by fintechs, there is
significant opportunity to mitigate payment fraud risk and reduce
losses.
“The shift in mentality of both banks and corporates means that
there is more opportunity than ever for technology adoption in the
business payments space,” said Bill Wardwell, VP of Strategy &
Business Development, Bottomline Technologies. “The survey results
reinforce the need for payments solution providers to deliver truly
innovative digital solutions, which enhance the overall payment
experience without sacrificing security.”
Additional insights and findings from the 2019 B2B Payments
Survey can be found in a comprehensive report and accompanying
expert-guided webinar by Strategic Treasurer and Bottomline
Technologies.
About Strategic Treasurer Strategic Treasurer
provides consulting services for treasury management, security,
technology, and compliance. Since 2004, the boutique firm has
advised corporate clients, banks, and fintech providers around the
globe by leveraging comprehensive treasury knowledge, awareness of
current practices, and plans and perceptions gleaned from annual
surveys and the benefit of decades-long experience. Headquartered
in Atlanta, with consultants based in Philadelphia, Cleveland,
Denver, and Washington D.C., Strategic Treasurer guides treasury
and finance professionals through the real-world, mission-critical
issues that organizations face today. To learn more, visit
strategictreasurer.com. About Bottomline
Technologies Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) helps
make complex business payments simple, smart, and secure.
Corporations and banks rely on Bottomline for domestic and
international payments, efficient cash management, automated
workflows for payment processing and bill review, and state of the
art fraud detection, behavioral analytics and regulatory compliance
solutions. Thousands of corporations around the world benefit from
Bottomline solutions. Headquartered in Portsmouth, NH, Bottomline
delights customers through offices across the U.S., Europe, and
Asia-Pacific. For more information visit www.bottomline.com.
Media Contacts Bottomline TechnologiesGemma
WaiteDirector, Marketing Communications 603-501-6537
gemma.waite@bottomline.com
Strategic Treasurer Brian L. CochrumDirector of
Marketing &
Communications678-466-2227brian.cochrum@strategictreasurer.com
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