3 Ways Embedded Finance Solutions Are Remaking B2B Procurement

The golden rule of work is often to keep personal and professional lives separate. But when it comes to payments, the seamless experiences and expectations that internal decision makers have in their personal lives are reshaping the B2B payments landscape.

Embedded finance, the integration of financial services such as buy now, pay later (BNPL) within non-financial platforms, has emerged as a critical driver of change. As FinTech innovation seeps into the corporate landscape, B2B payments are shedding their bureaucratic layers, replacing paper checks and ACH transfers with embedded financial solutions that mirror consumer experiences.

From eCommerce giants embedding lending options into their platforms to software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers offering real-time payment processing and other services, embedded finance is making finance invisible yet accessible, enabling businesses to focus on operations rather than payment frictions.

Still, embedded innovations, like BNPL for B2B, are just one component of the digital-first evolution of the B2B ecosystem. The digital marketplaces embedding these payment solutions are themselves reshaping procurement, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and automation alongside embedded finance to simplify complex purchasing decisions and optimize supplier relationships.

Read more: Click, Pay, Done: How Embedded Payments Could Transform B2B

Digital Marketplaces Represent the Next Frontier for Embedded B2B Payments

B2B digital marketplaces are becoming ecosystems where suppliers and buyers can transact with unprecedented ease. These platforms, spanning industries from industrial equipment to SaaS, are embedding BNPL and other financial services to enhance user experience and drive adoption.

This innovation are addressing a long-standing challenge in B2B commerce: payment delays. By providing structured installment plans, BNPL solutions enhance liquidity and foster stronger buyer-supplier relationships.

“There has definitely been an uptick in B2B-type platforms that are looking to add additional services to their product offering,” Justin Downey, vice president of product at Maverick, told PYMNTS. “There’s been a lot of development with third parties and ease of integration through APIs. Adding this payment piece to an existing offering just makes sense.”

The rise of open banking and API-driven payments is allowing businesses to integrate financial services directly into their platforms. Through APIs, companies can embed payments, lending and treasury services into their software ecosystems, eliminating the need for external banking portals.

Historically, B2B payments have lagged behind their consumer counterparts. While digital wallets, one-click checkouts and real-time payments dominate retail transactions, business payments have remained tethered to antiquated systems. The inertia is largely due to legacy banking infrastructures, regulatory complexities and entrenched business processes.

And while FinTechs are leading the charge in B2B embedded payments, traditional banks are not far behind. Recognizing the potential of embedded finance, banks are forming strategic partnerships with FinTechs to offer BNPL and credit solutions directly within procurement ecosystems.

“There’s a level of instant gratification,” Daniel Stanton, managing director and global head of Transactional FX at Bank of America, told PYMNTS, “and so we have to be there to meet that demand.”

See also: Your Business Has Its Payments Data. Now What?

The Future of B2B Payments

B2B payments are no longer just about transactions; they’re about experience, efficiency and intelligence. The companies that can recognize this shift and invest in embedded financial infrastructure could be the ones to succeed.

Retailers and manufacturers are investing in digitizing procurement, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Digital Payments: Modernizing Procurement Processes.”

The report found that 31% of retailers are investing in procurement systems and another 53% plan to do so. It also found that 42% of manufacturers are already investing in procurement technology and another 44% plan to do the same.

The marketplace is already responding with innovations, partnerships and new solutions. Visa on Thursday (March 13) announced that it will soon add tokenization and custom provisioning for mobile transactions to its Fleet cards, enabling issuers and FinTechs to integrate encrypted and tokenized card information into Apple Pay mobile wallets.

On Monday (March 17), M3 and Edenred Pay, an Edenred company, partnered to deliver financial solutions to hospitality businesses; while on Friday (March 14), Levelpath announced an integration that brings the procurement automation capabilities of its AI-powered procurement platform to Coupa’s AI-native Total Spend Management Platform.

Embedded finance for B2B is even coming to embrace some of the newer payment innovations impacting the space. For example, PayNation said Friday (March 14) that its new Crypto-Payment Portal is available now to facilitate B2B payments.

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