Payments are the lifeblood of business. 

But managing them isn’t always smooth. 

Many companies still struggle with clunky workarounds, disconnected systems, and constant worry about fraud. It’s a frustrating mix, and definitely not sustainable.

The upside? Some businesses are already rethinking how corporate payments work, and they’re finding more control, clarity, and efficiency along the way.

Let’s examine three big pain points and what others are doing about them so you have a few ideas to work with.

Three common payment challenges (and what companies are doing differently)

Challenge #1: Decentralization and reconciliation

The challenge:
For many companies, payments don’t flow through one central channel. 

Travel costs might sit in one system, procurement in another, and one-off payments get pushed through somewhere else entirely. Every department has its own way of doing things, and for finance, that usually means piecing together a jigsaw just to understand what’s really going on.

When you don't have a birds-eye view of your payments, you experience poor visibility into spending, reconciliation delays, and unnecessary manual work. 

When a CFO wants to know the company’s total outgoings, pulling that data together can take days. Meanwhile, employees are stuck filling out forms and chasing approvals. 

What companies are doing differently:

Many teams are starting to ditch the patchwork of tools and shift onto one platform that handles travel, procurement, and day-to-day payments together.

For finance, it’s a relief. Instead of pulling reports from different places and hoping the numbers line up, they can finally see spending in one view. That makes closing the books faster, but more importantly, it cuts out a lot of the guesswork.

With clearer data in hand, leaders can spot trends, push for better supplier deals, and actually feeling control of where the money’s going.

Some companies are also trying out virtual cards – set up for a single supplier or even a single purchase – which add a bit more flexibility and security without complicating things further.

Challenge #2: Integration gaps

The challenge:
Even with modern ERP systems, many businesses still struggle with fragmented connections between their finance platforms and banking partners. 

According to industry reports, CFOs and finance teams spend up to 520 hours per year on manual processes simply for payment handling, such as data entry, manual reconciliation, and error corrections.

That’s 520 hours, or roughly 13 weeks of full-time work, just to manually manage routine payment workflows.

That means lost time, higher error rates, and a finance function that’s reactive rather than proactive. For global companies managing multiple currencies and subsidiaries, the challenge only multiplies.

What companies are doing differently:
The shift to modern standards like ISO 20022 is helping businesses streamline integration. 

By speaking the same “language” as banks, companies can improve interoperability and cut out manual steps. APIs are also allowing for real-time connections between payment systems, banks, and ERPs.

Another approach is payment orchestration. 

Think of it as a layer that sits on top of what you already have. Instead of keeping up dozens of connections to different providers, finance and procurement can log into one place and get the job done.

The bonus? If a payment path suddenly goes down, the system doesn’t freeze. It just finds another route and keeps the money moving. No drama, no frantic phone calls – just business carrying on as usual.

Challenge #3: Security and fraud risks

The challenge: 
As more payments move online, they also attract more unwanted attention. 

Fraudsters are getting sharper, whether through phishing, account takeovers, or new tricks to slip past security. Real-time payments make things faster for businesses, but unfortunately, they also make fraud move faster.

For companies, that’s a big risk. 

One successful scam can strain supplier relationships, block cash flow, and shake confidence inside the business. And on top of that, there’s the constant work of staying compliant with rules like PCI DSS or GDPR. It’s a lot for finance teams to keep on top of.

What companies are doing differently:
More and more companies are weaving AI and machine learning into the way they handle payments. 

Instead of relying only on people to catch mistakes, these systems can scan huge numbers of transactions and flag anything that looks odd – sometimes even stopping a payment before it goes through.

Automation is creeping into compliance, too. 

Digital tools are taking over repetitive jobs like risk checks, audit updates, and monitoring rules across different regions. This relieves the team's pressure and makes the results more reliable.

On the security side, tokenization and virtual cards are becoming common. 

By generating one-off card numbers for a single purchase or supplier, businesses make it much harder for stolen details to be used again.

Shaping a smarter payment ecosystem

What ties these solutions together is a shift towards smarter, simpler payment ecosystems. 

Instead of patching over inefficiencies with manual effort, companies are embracing automation, integration, and real-time intelligence.

This transformation benefits more than finance teams. Procurement managers gain transparency into supplier payments, travel managers get easier expense reconciliation, and CFOs gain confidence in the accuracy and security of their financial data.

At AirPlus, we’ve seen how moving from scattered, manual processes to integrated solutions can transform the way organizations manage payments. 

Whether it’s through corporate cards, virtual cards, or orchestration platforms, the goal is always the same. 

More control, more transparency, and more peace of mind.

For companies still struggling with fragmented payments, the question isn’t if change is needed – but how soon they’re ready to act.

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Sources: 

1: https://comms.airplus.com/en/blog/the-future-of-corporate-payment

2: https://accesspay.com/knowledge-hub/connectivity/erp-bank-integration-5-ways-to-simplify-business-banking/

3:  https://www.iso20022.org/

4: https://comms.airplus.com/en/blog/an-experts-guide-to-choosing-the-right-corporate-payment-solution