Why your payment provider is more “strategic partner” than “payment processor”

“Payment providers? They just process business payments, right?”

Hands up if this thought has crossed your mind!

Well at one point in time, this was true. But in the fast-moving world of finance and procurement, payment providers are no longer the middlemen they once were. 

Businesses are now seeing a brand-new wave of data-driven growth – and payment providers are showing businesses a new way of working, giving them a necessary advantage in a competitive market. 

The time has come to take a fresh look at the role of the payment provider – a now-valuable partner capable of driving your business forward in this modern age.

Payment providers: A Swiss Army knife for financial management

There are a whole ton of benefits that an expert payment provider could bring to your business.

Here are three key areas where payment providers shine:

• Rich data & analytics

Today, transaction data is a goldmine of valuable insights for any business.

In fact, more than 80% of businesses agree that data is crucial for effective decision-making.[1]

And payment providers can help to centralise your data, offering comprehensive reporting and a treasure trove of actionable insights. 

• Easy integration

Seamless integration with your existing systems is crucial for simplifying payment processes and centralising reporting.

Payment providers ensure that payments seamlessly flow within your existing ecosystem, reducing complexity and streamlining operations.

• True expertise

Experience is where true value lies. And an expert provider will bring a wealth of knowledge to the table when it comes to implementing payment systems.

They’ll be able to provide strategic and operational assistance, but they’ll also be there to give advice and support at every step of the way.

Unlocking the full potential of payment providers

To show you just how game-changing payment providers can be, allow us to introduce “ABC plc”, a fictional manufacturing company.

ABC plc were struggling with rising costs and time-consuming tasks, and compliance was becoming a nightmare.

They decided they needed to revamp their payment system. And that an expert payment provider was the perfect partner for the job.

Here are the benefits they saw:

• Bigger cost savings

Do you know the main problem with fragmented, decentralised payment processes?

They’re costing you more than you realise.

ABC plc were using multiple payment methods across many different departments. It was impossible for the company to get the control over spend they needed, which resulted in admin inefficiencies, manual errors, and increased costs (such as unnecessary processing fees).

Their payment provider stepped in and consolidated their payment methods into a single, unified platform. This resulted in: 

• Reduced admin costs
• Fewer errors due to automated processes and the elimination of manual errors
• Minimised early- or late-payment penalties
• Reduced processing fees from the introduction of bulk payments. 

• Robust risk mitigation

In the digital world we’re living in, risk mitigation for businesses is now more crucial than ever. 

ABC plc was lacking strong compliance practices and the tools needed to help them identify – and mitigate – financial risks.

By integrating with modern software, their payment provider was able to strengthen compliance and make ABC plc’s risk management processes more robust. 

Their new software can now detect multiple invoices for the same purchase order, indicating potential duplicate payment errors in real time.

This alert enables ABC plc to investigate and therefore prevent unnecessary payments, ensuring accurate financial records and better safeguarding. 

• Favourable supplier negotiations

Intelligent supplier management is a critical aspect of keeping costs down.

Made possible by the powerful integration between their payment and software providers, ABC plc utilised their analytics platform to benchmark vendor costs against industry standards and competitive market rates.

And the comparisons were invaluable.

They not only revealed inefficiencies in their procurement processes but a major lack of transparency in supplier pricing.

Armed with their new information, ABC plc were able to successfully renegotiate supplier contracts, resulting in monumental cost reductions.

• Full visibility and control

ABC plc had a real lack of visibility over payments.

Regular ad hoc payments for things like office supplies and vouchers plus recurring payments for things such as software subscriptions were making reconciliation time consuming and error ridden.

They needed more control and oversight. And through their payment provider, ABC plc introduced virtual cards for procurement to their payment methods, streamlining one-off and recurring online payments. 

They also assigned virtual cards to each department (or in some cases, individuals), limiting spending to approved categories. This made sure that funds were only used for authorised purposes, maintaining clear visibility into spending patterns, ensuring adherence to compliance, and enabling better cost management,

This smart decision was backed by new research[2] which forecast that the total volume of virtual card transactions will reach 175 billion by 2028, rising from 36 billion in 2023. 

And B2B virtual cards account for the largest proportion of virtual card spend. 

Time for a fresh outlook 

The payment provider: no longer just a payment processor, but an integral part of your growth and efficiency strategy.

It’s clear that to stay ahead of the competition you need a payment provider that becomes a valuable and trusted partner.

By choosing the right payment provider and harnessing their expertise, companies like ABC plc (and yours) can unlock the full potential of their payment systems, seeing big transformations across their entire business.

Want to understand how virtual cards offer adaptability and cost savings for your procurement processes, download our latest guide “Mastering virtual card integration: A step by step guide for treasury, finance, and procurement teams"

For more information on what we can do for your business

[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/6-game-changing-data-analytics-companies-uk-2023-kavika-roy/ 

[2] https://www.juniperresearch.com/resources/infographics/virtual-cards-market-statistics-2023-2028/