Most financial institutions recognize the merits of partnering with a fintech company to help drive supplier adoption of virtual card payments – a potentially lucrative service for any sized institution.
Leveraging a fintech company’s invoice-to-pay platform enables financial institutions to speed-time-to-market with best-in-class payables technology. Fintechs help meet the ever-increasing customer demand for invoice-to-pay solutions. Additionally, fintechs allow financial institutions to scale and adapt their offerings without stretching limited internal resources.
But there are lots of fintech companies out there.
And choosing the wrong one can set a financial institution’s invoice-to-pay platform back. That’s why it’s imperative that institutions look for a fintech partner that combines its technology with proven tools and techniques for driving supplier enrollment.
This article details five supplier enrollment considerations when evaluating fintech partners.
Supplier enrollment services
The supplier enrollment services offered by fintech companies such as Edenred Pay can play a big role in helping financial institutions increase supplier adoption of their virtual card program.
The best fintech companies have a proprietary database of suppliers who accept virtual card payments, built from decades of experience in enrolling suppliers in card programs.
Some fintech companies also offer documentation, educational resources, and training materials to help suppliers better understand the benefits of migrating to virtual cards. And, in some cases, fintech companies help them establish an arrangement for accepting virtual cards. Other fintech companies tailor their communications to the needs of individual suppliers based on the business verticals they serve.
Leading fintech companies also provide dedicated support teams to help suppliers overcome any challenges or concerns that they have during enrollment process, fostering a positive experience.
Additionally, the invoice-to-pay platforms offered by some fintech companies automate the process of enrolling suppliers in a virtual card program. The intuitive, user-friendly interfaces in the best invoice-to-pay platforms guide suppliers through the enrollment process. Integration with legacy systems enables suppliers to transition to virtual cards without disrupting their existing workflows. Reporting and analytics tools empower suppliers to effortlessly track and reconcile virtual card payments. In addition, security features associated with virtual card payments give suppliers peace of mind that their payments are secure.
Straight-through processing
But best-in-class fintechs take things to the next level, enabling suppliers to process virtual card transactions and deposit funds directly into their demand deposit account (DDA) touch-free. The straight-through processing of virtual card transactions allows suppliers to achieve the benefits of automated payment reconciliation without having to manually handle virtual card payments or initiate transactions in a network.
Fintechs use various methods to facilitate touch-free processing, including robotic process automation, proxy pay services, integrations with accounts receivable providers and e-invoicing networks, and consolidated files of buyer payments to a single supplier.
Robotic process automation (RPA)
Leading fintech companies such as Edenred Pay also drive supplier adoption of virtual cards by using software robots (or RPA bots) to automate transactions made through a supplier’s payment portal.
For starters, RPA bots can access and interact with a supplier’s payment portal programmatically, eliminating the need for AP staff to manually enter credentials. Bots can generate virtual card details and create payment files with the supplier’s name, the payment amount, a reference number, and other necessary remittance details. The bots then initiate payments by entering the payment details into the supplier’s payment portal. Some bots can mimic human interactions by navigating through a payment portal’s interface to submit payments and complete forms with payment details. The best bots can identify and log any exceptions and escalate them to human operators for resolution.
By streamlining the end-to-end payment process with software bots, fintech companies create an environment where accepting virtual card payments is more appealing and convenient for the supplier.
Integrations
The last thing any supplier wants is unnecessary friction in their operations.
The desire to create an environment where virtual card payments to suppliers are processed straight-through, without human operator intervention, is why leading fintech companies integrate with accounts receivable (AR) networks, e-invoicing platforms, and other legacy systems.
Integration with AR networks and other existing systems enables a fintech company’s invoice-to-pay platform to seamlessly exchange relevant information about virtual card transactions with suppliers.
Data is synchronized in real-time between the fintech platform and the AR network or other systems. Suppliers are notified of virtual card payments and receive reconciliation details without having to process the virtual card transaction themselves. Some fintech platforms can automatically match virtual card payments with corresponding open invoices. Buyers are instantly alerted to any exceptions, minimizing potential disruption.
Integration protocols ensure the secure transmission of data between different systems.
With integrations, fintech companies enable straight-through processing for buyers and suppliers.
Consolidated files
Some fintechs can also identify concentrations of payments to a single supplier, such as a large media company, and consolidate files to ease the burden on suppliers.
Don’t overlook supplier enrollment
A poor approach to supplier enrollment can undermine or, at minimum, under-optimize the potential of a virtual card program.
That’s why it’s critical that financial institutions partner with a fintech company with proven tools and techniques for driving supplier adoption of cards. Supplier enrollment services, RPA bots that interact with supplier payment portals, and integrations with leading AR networks, e-invoicing platforms, and other legacy systems can help financial institutions achieve optimal success with their virtual card program.
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Edenred Pay, an Edenred Company, is the global leader in invoice-to-pay automation. Our integrated platform connects businesses with suppliers, ERPs, banks, FinTechs, and payment rails to automate, optimize, and monetize the entire B2B payments lifecycle – from invoice receipt through payment reconciliation. Edenred Pay’s efficient, integrated solutions create a frictionless process and help deliver value to the enterprise by enhancing visibility and monetizing AP.
Visit www.edenredpay.com or contact us to learn more.
