First Data and SAP have announced their plans to team up to rollout a B2B electronic payments solution that aims to take the friction out of B2B payments.
The two companies announced the rollout of the AribaPay solution at DAVOS (World Economic Forum) in Switzerland today (Jan. 20). This solution will be delivered through the Ariba Network across Europe and Latin America. This launch is aimed at helping companies complete B2B payments in a similar manner that consumers have when dealing with making an electronic payment.
“In combining First Data’s trusted global payments infrastructure with the unique insights and information-sharing capability of the Ariba Network, our companies can turn antiquated payment methods on their head,” said Frank Bisignano, First Data CEO. “We can help buyers and suppliers complete the procure-to-pay process faster, easier and with greater visibility.”
What the AribaPay solution will do is combine the expertise of First Data and SAP Ariba Solutions in order to make the procure-to-pay process faster, more seamless, and secure using the cloud-based payments solution across the business network. Through AribaPay, transactions are automated to help end users improve billing and settlement between companies.
Benefits of the service include: the ability to exchange purchase orders, invoices and payments in a fast, secure and electronic manner; lower processing costs; better remittance advice; lower fraud risk; the ability to track and trace transactions; and a quicker process to reconcile and dispute resolution.
As a provider of commerce-enabling technology and solutions, First Data’s decision to join with SAP can help bring AribaPay to Europe and Latin America in a way that helps digitize payments, but also establish a process that adds value across the enterprise. To date, more than $40 billion in B2B payments have been made using AribaPay.
“Trillions of dollars in transactions around the world run through First Data and our Ariba Network,” said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP. “I’m very proud to stand with Frank Bisignano and his team at First Data to fundamentally transform the way commerce is conducted between companies with AribaPay. Together we’re committed to bringing speed, transparency and simplicity to unleash the full promise of business networks in the digital economy.