Introducing: Payments Mythbusters
We only use ten percent of our brains. Gum stays in your stomach for seven years. Wedding rice makes birds explode.
There are many things people believe to be true that are, in reality, false. For the most part these myths or urban legends are funny, strange, and ultimately harmless. But when you start getting into myths around finances, they get more consequential. Like believing debit is always better than credit (it isn’t!) or that investing is only for the rich (it’s not!) can have long term repercussions on someone’s personal finances. And when it comes to myths around commercial finances, particularly payments, we’ve discovered there are so many out there standing in the way of progress.
Take the challenges of managing a companies’ finance department remotely for example. With all the complexities CFO’s and finance teams are navigating today, you begin to wonder: Why don’t more organizations switch to secure electronic payments?
The answer: Long-held myths, misconceptions and perceived barriers around commercial accounts payable combined with a lack of awareness around advances in financial technology (fintech) are holding some companies back. Finexio aims to bust through these barriers and shed light on truths that will not only improve your payments processes but also your bottom line in our new series, Payments Mythbusters.
In our first column, let’s take a look at three of the most common misconceptions around digital payments out there today. Are any of these familiar to you and your organization?
MYTH: Implementing a digital solution is cost prohibitive
FACT: For most companies partnering with Finexio, the digitization of their bill payments to suppliers is a windfall of seven-figure EBITDA gains comprised of saving several hours of valuable financial staff labor hours weekly, implementing critical process improvements, and creating new revenue streams. Overall, it’s a solution that pays for itself, with the added benefit of work hours being shifted to other strategic initiatives.
MYTH: It’s too complicated and will take too long to implement.
FACT: Truly integrated payment software reduces complexity. With the right solution, the rich data shared between buyer and supplier – invoice number, payment amount, purchase orders details, and more – can be easily exported from your ERP system instead of manually entering data. Buyers should be able to upload one simple payment instruction file and have all payment options executed through that one file.
Modern technology solutions provided by fintech companies allow organizations to keep many of their existing systems in place and optimize legacy workflows without forcing teams to ditch the tools they are familiar with.
MYTH: Suppliers won’t adopt the solution
FACT: Suppliers want a say in how they get paid and will adopt a solution that provides a payment method that is fast and easy for them.
Both buyers AND suppliers are looking for ways to remove inefficiency and “friction” in making and taking payments. But with so many disparate approaches for payment by card, ACH and check, it has resulted in a fragmented supplier onboarding experience. Any payment solution partner you consider should be doing these two things:
1. Make it easy for suppliers to accept your preferred methods of payment.
2. Drive value back to your organization with early payment discounts and cash-back benefits from rebates and incentives.
Did any of these ring a bell? If you’ve bought into any of these myths, hopefully we’ve convinced you to toss them into the dustbin—right next to the bird-exploding rice and that gum you swallowed in 2014.
Your Turn: What payment myths have you bought into in the past? OR do you have a payments-related myth you want busted? Tell us about it on Twitter— @finexiopayments #paymentsmythbusters.
Don’t let myths around digital payments hold your company back. To learn more about Finexio and how digitizing accounts payable can be an easy win, contact a member of our team for a consultation.
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