Healthcare B2B payments continue to present a significant opportunity for organizations looking to replace paper checks with more efficient electronic payment methods. Although check usage has declined across business payments, healthcare and social services organizations remain especially reliant on paper-based accounts payable processes.
B2B payment automation can help healthcare organizations reduce that dependence by digitizing invoice processing, approval workflows, and supplier payments. Solutions such as AvidXchange’s AvidInvoice and AvidPay are designed to help healthcare providers streamline accounts payable while giving them access to electronic payment options and established supplier networks.
We know that business payments in the U.S. still rely upon checks for a substantial percentage of supplier payments, with a bit of a sliding scale based on business size (smaller = more checks). What about Health care B2B payments?
The recent AFP e-payments study indicates that 42% of these payments remain on checks, which is a fairly large decrease from several years back but still a big number. In this release posted in Payments Source, the fintech AvidXchange discusses closing the indicated larger paper gap in two specific verticals:
‘“Seventy-five percent of payments are still made with paper checks in the healthcare and social services industry, which means care facilities have a huge opportunity to save costs and increase efficiency by shifting to e-payments,” Michael Praeger, CEO and co-founder of AvidXchange, said in a press release Monday.’
We have discussed the substantial increase in B2B payments technology in research posted earlier this year, helping to reduce check reliance and making it easier for businesses to adopt digital solutions globally.
In separate research, we have also pointed out the opportunity remaining to digitize the U.S. mid-market, which has various definitions but generally means companies between $25 million and $1 billion in annual revenues.
AvidXchange specializes in this market segment with its solutions.
‘AvidInvoice is designed to increase accounts payable efficiencies digitally through shorter invoice life cycles, streamlined workflows and the ability to manage several different care facilities on the same system….AvidPay completes the accounts payable process with e-payment options, providing access to a network of more than 500,000 suppliers, including vendors that most health care and social services organizations already do business with.’
This is more evidence of the rapidly changing world of B2B payments, as well as the ubiquity of options available to business verticals and segment sizes across the spectrum.
The continued prevalence of checks in healthcare B2B payments demonstrates how much opportunity remains for payment digitization. Healthcare organizations often manage complex supplier relationships and multiple facilities, making automated invoice and payment processes particularly valuable.
B2B payment automation can shorten invoice cycles, improve accounts payable efficiency, and help organizations transition suppliers away from paper checks. As more technology providers develop solutions tailored to specific industries and business sizes, companies have an expanding range of options for modernizing their payment operations.
The healthcare sector is one example of the broader transformation underway in B2B payments. With solutions increasingly designed around the needs of individual verticals, electronic payments are becoming a more practical alternative to longstanding paper-based processes.
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
