WEX Launches Digital Wallet for B2B Payments

Commerce platform WEX on Thursday announced the wide availability of Flume, a digital wallet that will allow instant account-to-account transfers for customers.

WEX stated in the announcement that the new offering was designed  to “bridge the digital divide for millions of small- and medium-sized businesses in the U.S.”

Flume, according to WEX, runs on WEX Payments and is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Across the United States, more than 40% of business-to-business payments are via check and two-thirds of business process payments by hand, WEX’s announcement said. “While digital payment options exist, most software is designed for large companies, creating an insurmountable barrier for small businesses.”

Matt Roy, co-founder and general manager of Flume at WEX, said in a prepared statement that the company previously introduced a beta version of Flume and has been ramping up for the broad launched just announced.

During its beta period, WEX said, Flume managed more than $2 million in small business payments with average transactions falling between $2,000 and $8,000. WEX said on its website that Flume is up to 20-times cheaper than bank transfers.

WEX said that during the trial period, the company has made it easier for businesses to process credit cards quickly and added an integration with Quickbooks, the announcement said.

“Timely access to cash can often be life or death for small businesses,” Jay Dearborn, chief strategy officer of WEX, said in a prepared statement. “With Flume, we’re offering a simple solution for this complex problem, enabling these businesses to focus on the future instead of chasing past payments.”

According to WEX’s website, the Portland, Maine, company’s “recommended” Essentials tier costs $50 per user, per month and includes 30 free payments per month.

WEX initially announced in April that Flume would be coming, as PYMNTS reported at the time.

Read more: WEX Unveils SMB Digital Platform Flume