Until recently, American Express (Amex) emphasized consumer credit cards, but now it is doing well in the B2B payments field. Since B2B payment methods are inefficient and confusing, Amex focuses on developing new digital tools that make transactions easier, improve finances, and boost business functions.
Traditional B2B Payments often have many difficulties.
Because of advancements in digital technology, companies could easily switch to newer means of payment, but most still stick to paper checks and handwritten invoicing. Working using these traditional methods takes plenty of time and is likely to result in errors and delays. It shows in a PYMNTS report that around 40% of business payments in the U.S. are done using paper checks, which generates difficulties and makes the flow of money slow.
The Change in Amex’s Strategy Focusing on B2B Payments
To deal with these difficulties, Amex has developed programs that help update how B2B transactions are conducted.
1. Amex Business Link
Introduced in the last quarter of 2022, Amex Business Link offers a full digital service for groups involved in B2B transactions. It makes sure that businesses can interact with each other easily, offering support for card payments as well as other methods, both within the country and overseas. It works with ERP and CRM systems by using APIs, so users can monitor payments in real time, automate reconciliation tasks, and get better reporting tools.
2. American Express Global Pay
American Express Global Pay focuses on SMEs and enables them to send payments to their suppliers in more than 40 countries. By using this platform, you can conduct B2B business overseas without difficulty, as the site supports mobile access, has options for different currencies, and gives you the ability to see the progress of your transactions.
3. Partnerships with Financial Institutions
Amex and Goldman Sachs have teamed up to give corporate clients a complete digital payments system. Through this tie-up, Goldman Sachs and Amex provide a single platform that allows transferring funds through ACH, wire transfers, and foreign currencies.
4. Integration with SaaS Platforms
In September 2024, Amex used the services of Unipaas, a PaaS firm, to let SMBs handle Amex payments using a SaaS platform. With this integration, businesses and customers can manage money more easily by giving customers the ability to pay invoices with Amex cards.
Good Things About Electronic Business Payments
Amex gives businesses several benefits through its online payment tools.
- Efficiency and Time Savings: Automation of payments allows companies to complete tasks without manual effort and saves them a lot of time.
- Improved Cash Flow Management: Managing accounts payable and receivable with digital ways improves the forecasting of a business’s cash flow.
- Enhanced Fraud Protection: They are designed to prevent fraud, since using paper checks is common for fraud in banking.
- Access to Working Capital: The Amex platforms give buyers and sellers access to working capital loans, making their financial liquidity better.
Solving problems related to liquidity
It is a significant problem that a lot of cash becomes ‘trapped’ in manual B2B payment processing. To help with this, Amex prepares the data for payment in advance, so that payment and cash flow are improved. Amex’s digital and automated tools help companies get their working capital back from the inefficiencies in earlier payment processes.
Conclusion
Knowing that B2B is vital for the business, American Express works toward bringing transactions into the digital world. Thanks to its integrated services that improve security, payments, and cash flow, Amex is facilitating more efficient business operation in today’s digital world.