“B2B payments” refers to payments between businesses, whether by cash, check, credit card, or electronic transfer, anytime one business exchanges money with another, that’s a b2b payment. While the basics of b2b payments are the same as a customer-retail transaction, there are a variety of elements that make b2b payments trickier. Especially in retail wholesale purchases, security is one of the most important things, since businesses have more assets than the average consumer and are often making high-value, high-quantity purchases, and are often recurring purchases. Additionally, there’s a longer process of approval on both the buyer and supplier side before the purchase is completed.
The complexity of B2B payment processes has led to payment solutions being created specifically to facilitate these B2B payments. These payment solutions are designed to streamline processes and remove middleman companies for more manageable, smoother, and faster payment processing for both the buyer and the supplier.
In this article we’ll explore B2B payment solutions, including what B2B payments are, how payment solutions are used in retail wholesale, and how you can use B2B payment solutions to scale internationally, and more.
What Are B2B Payments?
B2B payments refer to the process of any business paying another business. In wholesale, payments are most commonly exchanged in two places: when a wholesaler buys from a manufacturer, and when a retailer purchases goods from a buyer.
In the past, the most popular b2b payment methods included ACH, wire transfer, traditional paper checks, and cash – but these methods were often expensive, time-consuming, or risky (payments were often made via email or over the phone). As technology has overtaken the ecommerce world, both buyers’ and brands’ habits and expectations have changed. According to Juniper research, the global volume of instant B2B payments is expected to reach $18 trillion by 2025. Buyers expect a streamlined, secure way to easily pay for their goods, while brands seek cost-effective, secure, and flexible ways to get paid.
These expectations from brands and buyers mean that in order to succeed in ecommerce, businesses must use an eCommerce platform that allows them to accept buyers’ preferred payment methods, such as credit cards and digital fintech platforms like PayPal and WePay. An ecommerce platform equipped for b2b payments will help you get paid faster, reduce human error, and avoid expensive bank fees for everyone involved. When you opt for an eCommerce platform with a robust B2B payments offering, such as NuORDER Payments, you’ll experience fewer clicks and less confusion, greater security and speed, reduced human error, and the end of expensive wire transfers and fees.
How to Choose a B2B Payment Solution
B2B payment solutions vary based on their features and processes, but the basics of a quality B2B payment solution are the same. Choose a b2b payment solution that offers flexible payment terms; fast, secure transactions, easy international transaction capabilities; and a superior buyer experience.
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Flexible Payment Terms
The right B2B payment solution will be able to tailor the payments for your business and buyer needs. The easier you are to work with, the greater the odds buyers will return for more B2B payments and business.
Buyers are looking for brands with professional, easy-to-use, and secure payment platforms to accept the most modern ways to pay. They’re looking for flexible B2B payment terms too.
Choose a savvy eCommerce platform that will let you offer a healthy amount of flexibility. You should be able to offer split payments, collect payment the moment an order has been shipped, and more.
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Fast, Secure Transactions
As with anything involving exchange of money, trust plays an important role in buyers’ confidence in placing large orders.
When you offer instant, secure B2B payments, you’ll be more likely to make the sale; establishing trust can be a major hurdle for securing new business or expanding your brand into new regions.
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Easy International Transactions
Choose a wholesale eCommerce platform allowing instant payments to buyers all over the world.
Your platform should accept credit cards to make it easier to work with global clients, and allow you to accept dozens of currencies to help you offer seamless international B2B payments and transactions.
Also, look for an eCommerce platform that offers payouts in local bank accounts; all of these features make it possible to scale worldwide.
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Superior Buyer Experience
Just like customers abandoning their online shopping carts, wholesale buyers also face frustrations when shopping for products. There’s a wholesale version of frustrated customers abandoning their shopping carts online because they encounter friction in the shopping, checkout, or payment process..
Make it easy to shop your products online – with an intuitive and seamless experience, and you’ll be more likely to make the sale.
B2B Payments for Wholesale
While there’s a wide variety of b2b platforms with payment solutions that you can choose from, look for one that specializes in wholesale transactions.
For example, NuORDER’s payment platform is specifically designed to enable wholesale b2b payments, and allows brands to accept easy B2B payments from major credit cards from buyers worldwide – it’s a safe, secure, and fast way to get paid and it offers greater cash flow flexibility to both buyers and brands. Another benefit to using NuORDER is that viewing daily transaction reports and monthly statements are built right into your platform.
NuORDER’s Wholesale eCommerce Platform
Onboarding with NuORDER’s wholesale eCommerce platform and initial setup are easy and everything will be fully integrated with your ERP for automated B2B payment authorizations, refunds, and collections (such as auto-payments for shipping).
You’ll enjoy competitive, pre-negotiated rates, centralized reporting, B2B payment processing and management, and the ability to offer safe digital wallets to buyers. You’ll also get your funds faster with transaction settlements in under 24 hours, and save money with reduced transaction fees. Streamlining and implementing all the benefits of B2B payments also means more time to focus on growing your wholesale eCommerce business.
There are many benefits of moving to a digital platform. Save time, save money, and safeguard sensitive information while improving the checkout process and adding greater value to your partnerships with buyers.
Buyer expectations are changing; B2B payments should be as fast and simple as shopping B2C stores online. Learn More about NuORDER’s B2B payment solution.
