Embedded B2B Payments: The Next Frontier in AP Digitization

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Today’s businesses crave the same effortless payment experiences they enjoy as consumers. Embedded B2B payments answer that call by letting companies initiate and manage payments directly from within their own platforms.

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As businesses modernize their B2B operations, embedded payments and solutions such as AP payments as a service are emerging as the inseparable halves of a fully modernized payment system.

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Today’s finance leaders face unprecedented demands: Do more with less, stay agile amid economic uncertainty and drive business value. Embedded B2B payments offer a powerful lever to meet these goals.

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Business-to-business (B2B) payments are entering a groundbreaking era. Once a manual and fragmented process, payments are now being woven directly into the platforms that businesses use every day. These embedded B2B payments are closing the gap between consumer convenience and enterprise functionality, enabling seamless, secure and scalable transaction experiences.

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Moreover, this revolution isn’t just about better tech. It’s about driving efficiency, unlocking new revenue and reshaping supplier relationships. As embedded B2B payment solutions become more sophisticated, companies that adopt integrated accounts payable (AP) stacks stand to gain a serious edge. For finance teams and platforms alike, the imperative is clear: Embed now or fall behind.

Embedded B2B Moves From Buzzword to Business Imperative
Connecting the Front and Back of AP
Why Now Is the Time for Embedded B2B
A Roadmap to Embedded B2B Payment Success

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Embedded B2B Moves From Buzzword to Business Imperative

Enterprise embedded finance solutions bring consumer simplicity into business workflows.

$16T Estimated transaction value of embedded B2B payments by 2030

In the consumer world, embedded finance has already transformed how people bank, borrow and spend. For example, embedded solutions like buy now, pay later (BNPL) integrated directly into an eCommerce checkout process offer convenient financing to customers without forcing them to leave a retailer’s platform.

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Now B2B is catching up. Embedded B2B payments enable companies to pay business suppliers or partners from within their own platforms, such as procurement or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. For example, a recent report notes that large enterprises are integrating credit within ERP platforms to streamline supplier financing and embedding payroll functions to disburse salaries and manage compliance automatically. These processes elevate the payment experience for business users to match the digital convenience to which they’ve grown accustomed in their everyday lives.

Embedded B2B unlocks efficiency and growth amid long-standing pain points.

In addition to meeting the demand for seamless, consumerized B2B experiences, embedded B2B solutions also improve efficiency, lower costs and enhance growth for the businesses that make this shift. Indeed, embedded B2B is bridging the gap between modern user expectations and legacy AP friction—enabling companies to increase supplier satisfaction while optimizing internal workflows. These capabilities are transformative, especially when leveraged to support mid-market and enterprise businesses seeking streamlined, scalable and fully managed AP operations.

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This evolution comes at a critical time. Administrative inefficiencies and late payments remain widespread: According to a recent report, half of all United States B2B invoices are overdue, bad debts average 8% of sales, and 40% of firms delay paying suppliers as a result. Causes range from disputes to fragmented processes. Overdue invoices are converted to cash an average of 20 days late, creating ripple effects on working capital.

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The shift to embedded B2B, by contrast, positions AP departments as strategic contributors—not cost centers—when embedded payments are implemented as part of a managed service model. With an estimated value of $16 trillion by 2030, embedded B2B payments are poised to become a strategic differentiator for business platforms.

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Connecting the Front and Back of AP

As businesses modernize their B2B operations, embedded payments and solutions such as AP payments as a service are emerging as the inseparable halves of a fully modernized payment system.‍

Embedded B2B and managed AP payments comprise the inseparable halves of a modernized payment system.

62% of businesses say ERP integration is the top factor they consider when choosing an AP solution.

As B2B payment modernization evolves, it’s increasingly clear that embedded payments and automated payment management—solutions better known as AP payments as a service (PaaS)—represent two sides of the same coin: that is, a fully modernized payment system.

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Together, these capabilities create a seamless front-end experience with a powerful back-end infrastructure. Embedded payments allow users to manage transactions within platforms like procurement or expense systems. Meanwhile, solutions like Finexio’s AP Payments as a Service conduct everything behind the scenes: eliminating paper checks, managing exceptions, ensuring accurate settlement and handling supplier communication.

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Think of it this way: Embedded B2B payments provide the front-end user experience, while AP PaaS is the infrastructure that executes and manages each transaction seamlessly, securely and at scale. True transformation goes beyond simple automation—it involves offloading execution and operations to embedded B2B payment service providers while retaining control and visibility.

This integrated system is quickly becoming a necessity.

When embedded B2B payments and managed AP services are integrated as two indivisible parts of a single solution, organizations unlock a modern AP stack that is secure, scalable and strategically valuable—freeing up internal teams to focus on higher-order goals like cash optimization and supplier strategy.

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According to recent research, 62% of businesses say ERP integration is the top factor determining their choice of an AP solution, demonstrating the need for seamless back-end compatibility.

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The benefits are immediate: less manual work, fewer disputes and better supplier relationships. Real-time status updates, automated issue detection and accurate remittance delivery all make AP teams more efficient and strategic. Overall, this dual-layered model reduces friction, increases speed and boosts financial visibility.

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In short, the next generation of AP is not siloed. It’s a fully integrated, embedded experience that connects supplier needs, finance goals and operational efficiency in one ecosystem.
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Why Now Is the Time for Embedded B2B

Embedded B2B is a critical tool amid the current economic uncertainty.

36% of executives fear being left behind if they do not leverage embedded B2B payments.

Businesses are under pressure to do more with leaner teams. As the dual-layered model of embedded B2B with fully managed payment services gains traction, it’s fast becoming the default for finance-forward companies. For finance teams seeking scale without added head count, AP PaaS provides execution, fraud protection, supplier outreach and reconciliation under one roof.

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In short order, the most successful finance leaders will be those who understand that true AP transformation isn’t about adding tools—it’s about integrating smart solutions that work together as one. That’s why embedded platforms that automate onboarding, validate supplier payment data, optimize payment type selection, and ensure end-to-end visibility and control are rapidly becoming the standard.

Integrated B2B payments open up opportunities for increased business revenue.

They do this through monetization, which can take the form of revenue-generating payments such as virtual cards, value-added services or deeper customer engagement. According to Airwallex, 65% of executives are exploring embedded finance to monetize services like payment processing, loans and wallets to generate new income streams. What’s more, 36% fear being left behind if they don’t.

For enterprises, the message is clear: Integrated payment systems are becoming table stakes. Modern leaders will be those who optimize operations, monetize intelligently through supplier-friendly methods, and secure every transaction with built-in protections.
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A Roadmap to Embedded B2B Payment Success

To stay ahead, businesses must prepare for the future of AP by offering both embedded capabilities and managed payment services to drive scalability, efficiency and competitiveness.

PYMNTS Intelligence offers the following actionable roadmap on how companies can take a proactive approach to embedded B2B payments and AP payments as a service:

Evaluate your current AP workflows. Identify inefficiencies, fragmentation and risks in your existing supplier payment operations that could be resolved through an integrated, embedded solution.
Prioritize integration with enterprise platforms. Select solutions that embed seamlessly into your ERP, procurement or financial management systems to ensure control, visibility and scalability.
Leverage AP PaaS. Offload execution, settlement, supplier communication and exception handling to a trusted managed service partner that enables your team to maintain strategic oversight.
Focus on monetization opportunities. Optimize your payment mix with supplier-friendly options— like virtual cards and dynamic discounting—that generate revenue while improving supplier retention and satisfaction.
Shift resources to strategic priorities. Free internal finance teams from manual, tactical payment tasks so they can focus on optimizing cash flow, managing suppliers and supporting business growth.
Act now to stay competitive. The cost of inaction grows as embedded payments and managed AP services become standard. Adopting these solutions today positions your organization for resilience and long-term success.

The future of B2B payments is embedded, integrated and intelligent. By aligning embedded B2B payment capabilities with managed service delivery, businesses can transform accounts payable into a strategic growth engine—one that delivers efficiency, security and a lasting advantage in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

Originally posted on PYMNTS | July 31, 2025