How Business Pay B2B Payments
Going beyond
B2B payments
Invoicing, reconciliation, and visibility
Although offering the right payment method is essential for a company to reach its target B2B customer, it is also true that the payment itself is just the beginning.
“In most emerging markets, the payment method is only the first of your worries,” says Wiza Jalakasi, Director of Africa Market Expansion at EBANX. To start with, all B2B transactions must be tied to an invoice –and, especially in the case of physical goods, other documentation will be required. This can include import licenses, customs declarations, regulatory compliance documents, and KYC (Know Your Customer) paperwork, among others.
“In some countries, there are very strong reporting requirements from the authorities. If you are a global vendor, you must make it fit into the existing local frameworks, whether it's compliance, taxes, or customs; otherwise, you'll get a lot of friction,” stresses Jalakasi.
“The payment method is only the first of your worries. You must fit into all the local requirements; otherwise, you'll get a lot of friction.”
Wiza Jalakasi
Director of Africa Market Expansion at EBANX
This is where another big pain point of the B2B procurement cycle comes into action: payment delays. “Today, there are many, many manual processes. These are time-consuming, prone to errors, and problematic,” says Etcheverry, from EBANX. The lack of visibility of all the steps into the B2B procurement cycle leads to payment delays, which have a significant impact on cash flow and can jeopardize business relationships.
“Digital B2B payments become much easier when you have a platform where you can see all your invoices, reconciliation reports, and documentation needed,” says Lehr, from PCMI. Local expertise is crucial for this to happen seamlessly, as B2B vendors need to be on top of any regulatory changes in the countries where they operate.
How to unlock millions of dollars for a B2B business in Argentina
Doing business in Argentina is no easy feat. The country’s economic and political volatility pose significant challenges for global companies. Yet, Argentina stands out as one of the fastest-growing digital markets globally, ranking among the top 5 markets in Latin America. It is expected to expand at a 17% rate through 2027, offering immense opportunities for businesses willing to overcome the complexities.
In 2022, a global B2B company had an operational challenge in Argentina, due to local regulations that limited remittances and local spending in foreign currencies. This severely impacted their cash flow, jeopardizing their whole operation in the country.
EBANX developed a custom end-to-end solution that streamlined the entire receivables process, including payment processing, tax collection, invoice validation, FX, and remittance. Payments are collected in Argentine Pesos through Debin, a local bank transfer, while remittances are done in USD, meeting all regulatory requirements.
“This was only possible thanks to our deep local expertise and constant monitoring of the regulatory landscape in Argentina,” says Eduardo Abreu, VP of Product at EBANX. “This allowed us to develop a solution that fully complies with local regulations, solving a huge complexity for a global B2B company.”
The company has not only cleared the payment backlog but also continues to grow in volume, expanding by 45% quarter-over-quarter in Argentina. EBANX provided a scalable and fully compliant B2B solution in a complex market that both the company and its clients love.
End-to-end solutions are the next step for B2B payments evolution
After digitizing B2B payments, the path forward lies in integrating end-to-end solutions for the entire B2B procurement process—a pain point for companies in both emerging and developed markets.
“What’s missing is procure-to-pay –from purchase to payment. Today, it’s much more about procure-to-invoice. After the invoice, companies make a swift payment, and that’s it. We need the modernization of accounts payable and receivable, impacting the whole B2B procurement process,” says Eduardo de Abreu, Vice President of Product at EBANX.
Automating payment flows will be crucial to overcoming companies' current reliance on manual inputs, which leads to inefficiencies, back-office burdens, and payment delays.
According to Abreu, this will gradually happen as new B2B solutions are developed, bringing advantages such as FX optimization, better user experience, reduced intermediaries, and, ultimately, lower costs—especially for small customers.
“This means that even your smallest client, who has no bargaining power with their bank nor economic power at all, will pay the same rate as your largest client,” he says. “This has the potential of democratizing a whole industry, fostering access for more and more companies to B2B digital services, cross-border trade, financial services, and so on.”
“What’s missing is procure-to-pay –from purchase to payment. We need the modernization of accounts payable and receivable, impacting the whole B2B procurement process.”
Eduardo de Abreu
Vice President of Product at EBANX
Access to credit remains a cornerstone of business success, and integrating it with payment solutions for B2B transactions could become a game-changer. Alternative payment methods with embedded credit may pave the way forward.
Finally, addressing structural barriers like limited financial access and informal business practices will be instrumental in fostering growth in emerging markets, especially in regions prioritizing export economies or small enterprise empowerment, as is the case in India.
“India wants to be an export economy –so you'll see more and more push from the government, as well as from the ecosystem, to make cross-border payments as streamlined as possible, while ensuring that transactions are safe and genuine,” says Rashmi Satpute, Country Director for India at EBANX.
As governments and ecosystems push for easier, faster, and safer transactions, the B2B payment landscape is poised for transformation.
