B2B payment solutions should leverage existing innovations

IN RECENT years, retail customers' demands for a simple and seamless digital experience have been met. From purchase to payments, there has been no lack of innovation to make the online retail consumers' lives easier. With a click, they get to choose from an almost endless selection of items, and with another click, they complete the purchase by paying with a digital wallet, mobile payment app, or stored value card.

While business-to-consumer (B2C) payment channels dominate the market, there remains a lag in the development of business-to-business (B2B) payment solutions.

While consumers find online payments to be seamless and cost-effective, many businesses consider B2B digital payments expensive and complex. Concerns about hefty set-up costs and a tedious implementation process could be keeping companies from switching to digital payments. Some 90 per cent of Asia B2B transaction volume is in cash, and about 40 per cent of B2B transaction value is in cash and cheques.