Today in B2B Payments: Supply Chain Snarls Ease; B2B ACH Volume Rises 12.3% in Q2

Today in B2B payments, global supply chains report less strain in July than at any point since January 2021, while NACHA says B2B automated clearing house (ACH) volume rose 12.3% year over year in the second quarter. Plus, Telio aims to grow its B2B eCommerce platform, and two companies’ earnings spotlight corporate cryptocurrency strategies.

Supply Chain Snarls Ease as NY Fed Index Hits 18-Month Low

Global supply chains reported less strain in July than at any point since January 2021, with an easing of port congestion and other issues. This was the third straight month of declines and showed encouraging signs for the economy, with policymakers still looking to tame inflation. The Global Supply Chain Pressure Index from the New York Fed is now down almost 50% from the high in December, although it’s still well above pre-pandemic levels.

Same-Day ACH Payments Double in Q2

The ACH Network moved 7.5 billion payments totaling nearly $20 trillion in value during the second quarter. Year-over-year change metrics included: same-day payment value nearly doubled, rising 94.4% and volume increased 24.4%; overall payment value rose 6.5% and volume rose 3.5%; and B2B value rose 5.6% and volume rose 12.3%. Last quarter was the first in which the same-day ACH dollar limit was $1 million per payment, following the increase on March 18.

Vietnamese Startup Telio Aims to Raise $50M to $60M for B2B Platform

Vietnamese startup Telio aims to raise $50 million to $60 million in the latest funding round for its B2B eCommerce platform. Started by Bui Sy Phong in 2019, Telio had raised $51 million by November, at which time it announced a pre-Series B funding round that included $22.5 million from Vietnamese unicorn VNG. Telio now serves 60,000 stores in Vietnam that use the platform for sourcing, and it’s available for three verticals: fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), lifestyle, including cosmetic and fashion brands, and healthcare, including medicine and medical equipment.

A Tale of Two Treasuries: MicroStrategy vs Tesla

Bitcoin can be hazardous to the health of corporate balance sheets, as evidenced by second-quarter earnings reports from MicroStrategy and Tesla. Their latest earnings spotlight the question of corporate cryptocurrency strategy and its balance sheet risks. MicroStrategy’s massive exposure resulted in a nearly $1 billion impairment in Q2, nearly 10x Q2 sales. Tesla also suffered impairment, particularly relative to revenue: $170 million, which for a company that reported nearly $17 billion Q2 revenue amounts to just 1% of sales.

Pomelo Pay CEO: B2C Payments Have Raised the Bar for B2B

The advances in digital payments at the consumer level have led to B2B businesses “now demanding B2C-type FinTech in B2B,” Pomelo Pay CEO Vincent Choi told PYMNTS in a recent interview. Pomelo Pay, a United Kingdom-based startup founded in 2017, is looking to provide solutions to businesses, enabling them to accept digital payments quickly and at low cost without having to invest in expensive point-of-sale (POS) hardware.

Businesses Have the Will, but Don’t Always Find the Way to Modernize Payments

There is widespread will to adopt all-in-one, seamless B2B payments management solutions to address pressing pain points, according to “The Future of Business Payables Innovation: How New B2B Payment Options Can Transform the SMB Back Office,” a PYMNTS and Plastiq collaboration. However, where there’s a will, there must be a way, and several common challenges are impeding progress — among them, price sensitivity and understanding the benefits. The all-in-one payment platform gives buyers and suppliers choice in how they make and receive payments.

Caterpillar’s Q2 Shows How Companies Reap Current Rewards From Old Tech Investments

During Caterpillar’s second-quarter earnings call, CEO Jim Umpleby highlighted how the company’s growing services business and internet of things (IoT) initiatives have helped the company maintain performance in the face of stiff supply chain headwinds and rising inflation. Combined with robust eCommerce offerings and a rebound in construction and mining work after a lockdown-enforced lull, and the result was a strong showing for the period, despite the economy.

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