Payments will never be the same.
The pandemic shook up the payments industry as we know it. Businesses across every industry incorporated contactless into their everyday activities, including workflows, communication and of course, payments. Existing payment methods such as cash and paper check deposits are becoming obsolete, so much so that 66% of business leaders expect they will stop making or accepting these types of payments.
The rapid adoption of digital payments will have a lasting impact long after COVID-19. Not only are digital methods more efficient, but they cost less, improve business resiliency and streamline processes. However, it’s not enough anymore for businesses to simply upgrade their legacy payment systems. In today’s changing B2B landscape, businesses need a modern payment platform that responds quickly to growing industry trends and offers customers the flexibility of multiple payment options.
Above all, payments should help your business deliver an ideal experience no matter how quickly you grow or how much your customers’ needs evolve. Here are three reasons why modern payments are essential for scaling business:
1. Accelerate business growth
Every business’ goal is to grow. As companies build innovative products, implement technology to drive success and enhance competitive advantages for their customers, payment platforms shouldn’t stand in the way of their progress. When witnessing an increase in transaction volume, businesses should be able to seamlessly transition to higher processing levels. For example, the recent housing market boom in the U.S. created a need for real estate companies to scale their capabilities in order to accommodate the rise in closing costs and mortgage payments.
Writing more checks is not scalable.
2. Customize payments to fit your needs
Businesses need a solution that gives their customers the flexibility of moving money across various payment rails. With real-time payments, businesses benefit from the immediacy of sending and receiving money within seconds, allowing them to make payments in time-sensitive or emergency situations.
On the other hand, the ACH Network offers a reliable and predictable connection for transferring funds between bank accounts, with total volume surpassing 7 billion payments in the first quarter of 2021 alone. ACH transactions also offer businesses the ability to initiate mass payouts or disbursements quickly.
While each payment type has its own unique advantages, customizing payments according to costs, transfer speeds and levels of support is critical to businesses and their customers.
3. Improve reporting and data transparency
Across the board, digital payments provide greater transparency, allowing businesses to track and add contextual business information as it happens.
For example, information that traces back to operations, like invoice numbers, can be sent with the transaction, rather than being stored in a separate system and manually updated. Modern payments technology allows a business to automatically send a notification of a payments’ success, or in the event of an error, pass the appropriate message back to the sender.
Using these insights, businesses gain full visibility into cash flow in real-time, allowing them to forecast and report spending with an unprecedented level of confidence.
Ultimately, having a modern payment experience isn’t just about company growth. It’s about preparing for the trends and innovations to come. With digital payments in place, businesses can deliver solutions that best fit the unique needs of their customers, wherever they are and however they prefer to pay.
The future of payments is electronic, flexible and scalable for every business.
