International business payments can be a time-consuming and stressful task. Luckily, technology never stands still, and modern apps can improve your productivity, remove mundane tasks and simplify complicated ones.
We review recent trends in how businesses make and receive their international business payments. Please read on if you are considering new software and process improvements for your team.
As businesses embrace new technologies such as cloud-based software, they increasingly favour solutions that are easy to connect to other tools. Gone are the days when consultants spend weeks or months building an integration to your existing system. According to a recent survey by Codat, 78% of Small and 88% of Medium-sized businesses said the ease of setting things up and integration capabilities are key factors in choosing the new financial software, particularly for facilitating connections with international payment processors.
HedgeFlows is an example of the new trend - it takes on average 3 minutes for new users to connect the system to their popular cloud-based ERP such as Xero, Netsuite or MS Dynamics, for seamless integration with international payment processors. Equipped with online training materials and 24/7 online support, new users can start saving time the same day instead of waiting for weeks.
While e-commerce and new PoS solutions have disrupted merchant acquiring for B2C trade, digital solutions took longer to arrive for finance teams working with business-to-business payments. Accounts Payable (AP) automation used to be out-of-reach for most SMEs as their Accounts teams spent days manually processing payments on clunky bank portals. A growing breed of companies such as Telleroo, Crezco, and HedgeFlows offers easy-to-use and intuitive interfaces, secure workflows and affordable costs that can save your business a lot of time on payments. While Open Banking solutions can be great for smaller amounts and are currently limited to domestic transfers, technologies such as multi-currency e-money wallets can become a robust foundation for your payment automation.
E-wallets don’t need to replace your bank accounts but are a great way to pay and receive currencies if your business trades internationally. Built on modern electronic payment systems and combined with automated workflows, they can be a robust solution for anyone looking to process payment runs in one or multiple currencies.
Thanks to their cloud-based connectivity, new apps help teams work closely together - on their computers or mobile. Accounting practices also see an opportunity to offer better services to their clients. More and more of them are offering business services to SME clients. Cloud-based solutions bridge the connectivity gap - helping accountants to prepare runs for their clients, leveraging secure connectivity for robust approval and monitoring workflows. If your business needs help processing payments and invoices - finding a forward-looking accounting practice can be a viable route to enhance your team.
With ever-growing volumes and the growing sophistication of fraudsters that can pry on anyone from remote corners of the globe, payment errors and fraud are becoming a burning issue for many businesses. New technologies such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Machine Learning can help detect erroneous or fraudulent invoices and payments at a fraction of the cost. At the same time, putting an approval process is now easier with new solutions. Best-in-class AP automation and payment processing apps can be securely accessed (with multi-factor authentication) in the office or on the go.
Small businesses in some industries, such as Travel, Logistics or AdTech, have historically struggled to leverage integrations to streamline their payments, relying on bulk file transfers and spreadsheets. With API connections becoming more popular with software providers, the latest trend sees real-time feeds between commercial or ops systems such as CRMs or Travel management systems with software used by finance teams to give them early visibility. New integrations help finance teams plan cashflows, identify risks early and optimise working capital.
In today's swiftly evolving business payment landscape, the surge in international payment processors and seamless integrations underscores a shift towards efficiency and agility. The demand for ready-made software integrations emphasises the need for swift connectivity.
Affordable automation solutions, particularly in international payment processing, empower SMEs to relinquish manual tasks and focus on strategic endeavours. E-wallets' rise as cross-border transaction tools showcases adaptability, while cloud-based collaborations and specialised APIs redefine outsourcing dynamics, optimising payment flows. With cutting-edge fraud detection technologies and real-time data exchanges, businesses are poised to navigate complexities confidently.
These trends collectively highlight technology's pivotal role in reshaping the payments landscape, making efficiency and security paramount. If you'd like to find out how HedgeFlows accomplishes this, get in touch!