B2B payment processes are under pressure to modernize. While consumers have become accustomed to convenient digital payments and self-service experiences, many businesses still rely on manual processes and paper checks. The gap creates friction for both accounts payable and accounts receivable teams, while making it harder for businesses to maintain predictable cash flow.
The shift is already underway. According to the 2025 AFP Digital Payments Survey, checks accounted for just 25% of incoming B2B payments among surveyed companies. Yet 91% of businesses still use checks, highlighting the opportunity to move more payment activity toward digital methods that offer greater security, convenience, and efficiency.
For B2B organizations, consumer payment experiences are increasingly shaping customer expectations. An accounts payable professional may manage personal finances through one-click payments, online statements, and automated recurring transactions. That same convenience is becoming expected in professional relationships.
The rise of younger generations in the workforce is accelerating this shift. Millennials and Gen Z professionals have grown up using technology to make everyday tasks faster and easier. As they take on greater responsibility within organizations, manual payment processes are likely to face even more scrutiny.
Payment friction can also affect when a business gets paid. Mailing a paper check creates additional steps for the payer and can delay the payment process. B2B organizations can reduce that friction by introducing features that mirror the convenience of B2C payments, such as secure stored payment methods and autopay for subscription and recurring invoices.
Digitalizing B2B payments can produce several practical benefits:
- Faster cash flow: Embedding payment capabilities directly into invoices can help businesses get paid 20–30% faster during the first six months.
- Lower processing costs: Check processing can cost between $2.01 and $4 per transaction, while 65% of organizations reported experiencing check fraud in 2025.
- Greater transparency: Digital payment experiences can give customers immediate access to receipts, invoices, account statements, and related information.
- Improved security: A PCI- and SOC-compliant payment gateway can reduce payment-related risks and PCI scope.
- Stronger retention: A seamless payment experience has become an important part of the overall customer relationship. If paying a vendor is difficult, customers may have reason to consider alternatives.
Modernization also gives finance teams an opportunity to move away from manual payment chasing and toward more strategic work. The objective is a payment process that can scale with the business while giving customers the digital experience they already expect in other areas of their lives.
With , enterprises can build a reliable and scalable accounts receivable process that embeds payments, supports faster cash flow, and creates a more convenient experience for customers.