Goldman Sachs Adds Global Payments To SAP Ariba

A new Goldman Sachs deal will allow more companies to work with with the wide swathe of businesses using SAP’s Ariba Network, which boasts trillions of dollars in commerce transactions annually, according to a press release.

Goldman Sachs’ capabilities for cross-border payments and tech-savvy achievements that simplify payments as reasons why SAP is also getting something out of the deal. Buyers will be able to pay suppliers in their own countries’ currencies with ease, according to the release.

In addition, the deal will allow better reconciliation of payments with the matching invoices. It will also allow real-time payment tracking along with less inquiries about payment-related issues for suppliers.

There will be cost transparency on fees, and payment routing will be handled by Goldman Sachs’ advanced machine learning technology. Risk will be less of an issue because of the increase in transparency and tighter control on foreign exchange payments, along with the currency exposures for those with stake in procurement and treasury.

And, buyer and supplier relationships will improve because of the allowance to use both parties’ currency without needing to go through rigorous or tedious change requirements.

The Ariba Network has more than 4.6 million companies in over 190 countries worldwide, which makes it the largest business network in the world.

SAP Executive Vice President Sean Thompson said the move was all about expanding the company’s portfolio and offering new solutions for cross-border payments, which have become a staple for many businesses in today’s connected world.

Hari Moorthy, global head of Transaction Banking at Goldman Sachs, said the bank wanted to put clients first and create a “frictionless” experience when exchanging payments.

Goldman Sachs has been looking at ways to expand its partnerships as of late, as Chief Financial Officer Stephen Scherr said at a recent forum. Scherr said the focus in the future may be on partnerships that boost initiatives that the bank has already started but perhaps has not finished developing.