Another B2B Deal
In yet another example of the bevy of activity in the B2B payables space, this announcement is added to the collaboration, partnership, acquisition and general convergence discussion that we have been covering. We expect readers to be quite familiar with Fleetcor, more closely associated with fuel cards but expanding into broader payables solutions. Some may not be acutely aware of Nvoicepay, a 2009 startup that specializes in payables automation, based in Beaverton, Oregon.
‘Nvoicepay delivers automated accounts payable solutions to over 400 business clients, providing a simple UI that allows customers to electronically pay all of their suppliers. The full disbursement capabilities of Nvoicepay along with FLEETCOR’s existing card processing solutions, enables businesses to pay their entire accounts payable expenses, including both domestic and international payables.’
Several months back we had spoken to Karla Friede, the CEO and co-Founder of Nvoicepay, regarding the announced partnership with Symbeo, an invoice automation provider, which we briefly chronicled in Payments Journal. We have not had a chance to review this acquisition with either Ms. Friede or Kurt Adams of Fleetcor. Since Fleetcor also owns Comdata, which has been aggressively pursuing broader B2B payables automation now for several years, it will be interesting to learn where and how Nvoicepay will fit into that mix, which is mentioned but not detailed in the release.
“Nvoicepay presents an exciting opportunity to accelerate growth of our Corporate Payments business by offering customers a simple way to pay all their accounts payable with one vendor,” said Ron Clarke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FLEETCOR. “Through the combination of Comdata, Cambridge and soon Nvoicepay, we believe FLEETCOR will offer one of the most comprehensive domestic and international AP payments solutions available to businesses.”
B2B Focus
The deal underscores the growing B2B focus that we have seen across the payments space in the past couple of years, and certainly will not be the last of its kind. We cover the transition underway around fintech investments and increasing corporate use case scenarios, with various points made in our recent report titled Fintech in Corporate Banking: Digitize or Miss the Boat, such as:
- Latest-generation technology, including data-driven machine learning, is already being incorporated into various corporate banking uses, and multiple solutions are available for consideration
- Optimizing latest-generation tech for corporate banking scenarios requires digital transformation and ease of solutions interaction.
- For institutions lacking the capital required for direct funding participation, review service provider strategies and capabilities to ensure a level of competitive parity.
We will provide more information as it becomes available.
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group