MasterCard and Basware Partner to Expedite B2B Payments

New research indicates that supply chain managers are increasingly confronted by the challenges of a “late paying culture,” undermining buyer-supplier relationships.

Over half (57%) of international businesses surveyed by Basware and MasterCard admit to having actively delayed paying their suppliers in the past 12 months.

“Late payment and manual processes are real problems in commerce,” says Esa Tihilä, CEO of Basware. “Most organizations believe that late payment is a fact of life and will always be the case.”

In an interview with SCMR, Tihilä noted that manual processes slow down cash flow at a time “when we need the economy to grow.” This is particularly problematic for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“This is a real challenge, particularly for organizations with multiple suppliers who deal with a vast number of invoices,” Tihilä added.

In order to break this cycle, Basware and MasterCard are introducing Basware Pay, a solution that connects buyer and supplier payment processes and enables working capital optimization. It allows buyers to better manage their cash flow and allows suppliers to get paid sooner.

“More than ever, global businesses rely on a complex network of partners and suppliers, and the ability to interact with agility is key to taking advantage of a fast-moving environment,” said Hany Fam, president, MasterCard Enterprise Partnerships. “Integrating invoicing and payments processes can take friction out of the system and boost the broader economy.”

Over 1,000 strategic decision makers across the U.S., Europe and Australia participated in the “Creating Payment Energy” research. The results highlight the tension between cash management and efficient payment processes. Here are some of the top findings:
•      While the vast majority (88 percent) of respondents agree that suppliers should be paid promptly, over half (57 percent) admitted to having actively delayed payments in the past 12 months
•      Three quarters (74 percent) of decision makers think late payment is a fact of business life and will always happen, despite 90 percent acknowledging that payment delays have wider repercussions for businesses, such as the ability to pay staff or reduce investment
•      Two thirds (67 percent) acknowledged that they have used payment terms as a strategic lever to help manage cash flow
•      Only one in four businesses has highly automated processes to manage payment efficiently

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