“Lloyds Bank has become the first bank in Europe to partner with Visa to offer Straight Through Processing (STP) technology to customers using its commercial charge cards. Straight-Through Processing (STP) enables a more efficient way to pay invoices while providing the traditional benefits of commercial card payments to both the buyer and the supplier.With STP, buyers can request to time their payments to maximise the number of days before their statement, giving them more flexibility with their cashflow than would be the case with a bank transfer.”

“Former Mollie and Klarna senior managers have developed Biller, an AI powered buy now, pay later service for B2B purchasing. The Biller invoicing platform provides suppliers with automated credit and fraud underwriting and the ability to offer buyers flexible payments terms running up to 90 days after the invoice date.”

“Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) said on Monday it is partnering with the financial tech and payments company Fiserv Inc (FISV.O) to expand its transaction banking and foreign exchange payments network, according to a joint press release. The move gives Goldman the chance to pitch its fledgling business of managing corporate cash to Fiserv’s network of some 12,000 banking, brokerage and government clients.”

“Barclaycard Payments today announces it has agreed to join Mastercard Track™ Business Payment Service, making new services available to Barclaycard Payments’ customers later this year. The innovative, open loop network delivers value to both Buyers and Suppliers by simplifying and automating the set up and execution of business payments using multiple payment rails and enhancing the exchange of payments-related data. In turn, it enables Buyers and Suppliers to utilise the best available option for paying each-and-every invoice.”

“Veem, a leading provider of online payment solutions, today announced the release of a suite of products including Veem Invoicing and Veem Collections to help small businesses Pay and Get Paid. The new suite of products provide an end-to-end, industry-first payment solution that enables small businesses to collect and receive payments in local and multi- currencies from 40 countries.  From invoicing to payment collections, the new offering removes friction from the process by allowing small businesses to build, customize, and send invoices, as well as the unique built-in ability to cost effectively collect any payments from around the world, including zero-fee payments in domestic markets. On the payer’s side, the product suite gives them the choice to pay from multiple methods, including bank account, credit card, check or through their Veem Wallet.”

“Accounting automation software leader BlackLine , Inc. (NASDAQ: BL) and Kyriba , a global leader of cloud-based finance and IT solutions, today announced that they are joining forces to streamline the digitalization of the Office of the CFO and improve collaboration between Finance and Treasury departments. The partnership offers enhanced capabilities for mutual customers through their integrated solutions to accelerate bank connectivity, increasing cash visibility and enabling greater automation within the financial close and accounts receivable processes.”

“TravelPerk , the largest global business travel management platform, announced today a new partnership with Divvy , the leading spend and expense management platform to bring the best business travel and expense management experience on the planet. Through the collaboration, TravelPerk becomes Divvy’s primary travel partner, providing employees of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) with a simpler way to book, manage, and pay for what they need when travelling for work, while also giving finance teams a central place to control, manage, and track spend.”

“Billtrust (NASDAQ: BTRS), a B2B accounts receivable automation and integrated payments leader, announces KONE Inc., a leader in the elevator and escalator industry, will now be using Billtrust’s Invoicing platform and Business Payments Network (BPN) in Canada, enabling the company to send more invoices electronically while positioning them to accept digital payments through their preferred channels.”

“Capital One is bringing flexible payment options and improved cash flow to its small business customers by enabling them to make credit card payments even where they are generally not accepted. Through a collaboration with B2B payments startup Melio , Capital One’s small business customers can now pay their bills via credit card to vendors all across the U.S., including those who prefer direct bank or wire transfers, as well as paper checks. Melio pays these vendors using their preferred payment method without requiring them to open a Melio account.”

“Accounts payable is a back-office area of most enterprises that historically was little noticed as it routinely cut checks for suppliers and tracked payments. But when the deadly coronavirus shut down businesses, many companies realized their paper-laden processes, including invoicing and manual check-writing, wasn’t a good fit for a shift to employees’ homes. Meanwhile, a pack of fintechs had in recent years targeted that business-to-business function for a digital remake and the pandemic gave them the perfect opportunity to lure new work.”

“While interest in cryptocurrency and digital payments is on the rise for consumers, paper checks still account for over 40% of all B2B payment volume, and they rob the economy of anywhere between $550B and $1T in errors, delays, and soft costs each year. For businesses, the hidden costs of paper checks are a source of drag on their bottom line, with the average cost of processing a single paper check ranging from $4 to $20 – translating into hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in expenses for mid-sized companies. Smart Lockbox lets businesses shift their remaining paper-based payments to faster, cheaper, and more secure digital alternatives by giving their customers a seamless one-click migration experience.”

“WEX (NYSE: WEX), a leading financial technology service provider, has been awarded the California state-wide fleet card contract by California’s Department of General Services (DGS) and the Office of Fleet and Asset Management (OFAM). This multi-year contract was awarded based on WEX’s technology, service and experience within the government space. The program will provide California state agencies and other eligible local government users convenient payment tools, reporting and analytics to support their purchasing of fuel, electric vehicle charging and other fleet-related expenses such as oil, fluids, lubricants, parts, repairs and maintenance.”

“Brightflag, the AI-powered legal spend management and matter management software , today announced the launch of its Bill.com integration, continuing its commitment to simplifying collaboration between corporate legal and finance departments…Brightflag customers using Bill.com can now automatically ensure invoices submitted by legal vendors include the correct cost code allocations and currencies before reaching financial approvers. Both line item data and invoice summary documents are synced between Brightflag and the accounts payable (AP) system with no manual effort required. All data remains protected by SOC 1 Type II compliant controls.”

“Today, Teampay , the leading distributed spend management platform, announced Catalyst by Teampay, a first-of-its kind digital corporate card that combines the innovative technology of Teampay’s platform with Mastercard’s industry-leading capabilities, ushering in a new era of a premium commercial card experience for executives. Catalyst by Teampay is the first corporate card built on the foundation of the Mastercard digital first experience. Nearly 90% of in-person transactions globally now take place at a contactless-enabled merchant, according to recent data from Mastercard.”

“An impressive €42.7 billion was spent on European virtual commercial cards in 2019, accounting for 12% of total commercial card spending, according to RBR. Virtual card expenditure in the region increased at an average of 32% per year between 2016 and 2019. Virtual commercial cards are digital card numbers generated centrally or instantly issued, which are distinct from tokenised versions of plastic cards in mobile wallets. They are offered primarily by specialists, but increasingly also by traditional bank issuers.”

“Last spring, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. economy, many companies asked their suppliers for more time to pay their bills. A year later, some of them are holding on to the better terms, freeing up extra cash. Big U.S. companies on average took 58 days to pay suppliers in their first quarters of fiscal 2021, up 5.5% from 55 days in the comparable period last year, according to research from Hackett Group Inc. The business advisory firm gathered the data from corporate disclosures for 938 of the largest public U.S. companies by revenue that have reported results for their fiscal first quarter, excluding financial institutions. For fiscal 2020, businesses took 62 days on average to settle their dues with suppliers, up 7.6% from the previous year, Hackett said. The full-year data set includes 1,000 companies.”

“Veem , a leading provider of online payment solutions, today announced the expansion of its no-fees domestic payment services to Canada, including Québec. Named Veem Local Canada, the tool includes Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT), giving Canadian business owners a new, easy-to-use tool for payment options. Veem Local Canada provides businesses with an all-in-one, end-to-end solution for cross payments between provinces and territories across the country. Other key features include no fund caps, payment workflow solutions such as an enhanced reconciliation process, integrations with Quickbooks and Xero, and free features including invoice capture and tiered approval flow.”

“American Express (NYSE:AXP) today launched the Global Business Spend Indicator (GBSI), a new survey of global businesses conducted with the Centre for Business and Economic Research (CEBR)². The survey reveals U.S. businesses are the most bullish and optimistic when it comes to B2B spending among the six countries covered in the survey, with 76% of U.S. businesses expressing optimism about their prospects over the next 12 months. Respondents predicted that B2B spending in the U.S. will be an average of 3.4% higher in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. Applying that projection from the survey respondents to broader U.S. macroeconomic data would equate to an estimated $140 billion in additional B2B spending from U.S. businesses³.”