Extend Debuts Bill Pay to Streamline Invoice Payments

Extend has introduced a feature that allows businesses to streamline invoice payments with virtual cards.

Bill Pay is designed to simplify companies’ account payable processes while optimizing cash flow, maximizing card rewards and improving security, the virtual card/spend management platform said in a Monday (Oct. 28) news release.

“Traditional payment methods pose significant challenges for finance teams. Paying invoices by check can lead to lost payments, delays, and difficulty tracking in real time,” the release said.

“Keeping a business credit card on file with vendors is also problematic. If vendors overcharge or a card number is compromised, the finance team has to stop payments, dispute the fraud with the issuer, and replace the card on file with all vendors before it disrupts the supply chain.”

Bill Pay, the company added, lets teams pay vendor invoices leveraging the control and security of virtual cards. The tool lets customers create and send virtual cards for invoice payments via the Extend app, and pay multiple vendor invoices in bulk.

Vendors, meanwhile, will get a remittance email with a secure link to the virtual card details, letting them charge that card for the amount of the invoice, “like any other card transaction,” the release added.

As PYMNTS wrote earlier this month, virtual cards are part of a “deep bench” of B2B payment tools available to businesses, which nonetheless continue to rely on paper processes, something that can prevent them from truly blossoming.

“As digital payments have advanced and the technology that surrounds the payment acceptance landscape has evolved, the ability to implement, adhere and administer a payment policy that is both tied and centered to a merchant’s corporate objectives has become increasingly more important,” Kunal Patel, the general manager, payments at Billtrust, told PYMNTS as part of the month-long PYMNTS B2B Outlook 2030 event, adding that this is even more critical for firms dealing with large volumes of transactions.

Patel noted that businesses need to balance their corporate goals — whether that’s enhancing cash flow, managing costs or boosting customer satisfaction — with a well-structured payment acceptance policy.

“Merchants and suppliers are increasingly seeking to accelerate working capital, get paid faster and improve the customer experience,” Patel said.

The biggest challenge, however, lies in truly lining up these objectives with payment acceptance policies — something that in many cases requires sophisticated technology matched with a thoughtful approach to how businesses interact with buyers.