22 B2B Payment Statistics & Trends in 2023

TheB2B (business-to-business) paymentsmarket is growing, with payments becoming increasingly digital. Although the market as a whole is becoming more flexible and secure, there are still challenges that inhibit businesses’ ability to efficiently manage B2B payments, not to mention expand internationally.

Whether you operate a B2B company or need to make regular orrecurring paymentsto your suppliers and vendors, we rounded up nearly two dozen B2B payment statistics you need to know.

B2B Payments Overview

1. The B2B payments market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 10% through 2030

The global B2B payments market size reached$994.2 billion in 2022, with forecasts to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1% through 2030. This means the global B2B payments market will amount to a predicted $2.1 trillion by 2030.

2. There will be more than $111 trillion in B2B payments by 2027

In 2022,$88 trillion in B2B paymentswere processed. Forecasts predict this figure to grow to more than $111 trillion by 2027.

3. 80% of B2B transactions will be digital by 2025

Digital B2B payments are increasing; Gartner’s 2020 report forecast that 80% of “buyer-seller” sales interactions will be digital by 2025.

According to a 2022 B2B payments report, 49% of businesses surveyed said they will beconverting from paper check to electronic payments。The biggest benefit is lower payment processing costs due to improved data quality and fewer time-consuming manual processes.

4. ACH credits and check transactions make up most B2B payments in 2022

According to the 2022 AFP Digital Payments Report,35% of B2B payments in North America in 2022were received via ACH credits, and 25% were received via paper checks. This is followed by domestic wire transfers at 13%.

5. 33% of organizations continue to use checks for B2B payments in 2022

While around a third of organizations still use checks for B2B payments, this is a steady decrease from51% in 2016 and 42% in 2019。

6. B2B payments are expected to make up 71% of the total value of the virtual card payment market in 2026

Virtual card transactions are expected to reach$6.8 trillion globally in 2026。Virtual cards offer conveniences for businesses, such as employee-issued cards and spend tracking tools. These benefits are even more valuable in an increasingly remote workforce.

7. Domestic payments will make up nearly 60% of total B2B transactions in 2025

While many B2B payments cross international borders, most are anticipated to be domestic. Domestic transactions are expected to account for59% of total B2B paymentsin 2025.

8. Most B2B payments happen in the US and Canada

Compared to other parts of the world,North America’s B2B marketmakes up the largest slice of payments—and this trend is expected to continue. However, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at a rapid pace because businesses in those markets adopt more virtual payment methods at faster rates than in other regions. Plus, there’s a “growing presence of major players in the market.”

B2B Payments Technology

9. 64% of companies use electronic methods for at least half of B2B payments

Many companies leverage theconvenience of digital B2B payment options。Nearly two-thirds make more than half (51%) of B2B payments electronically.

10.有十大“杰出的players” for B2B payments

According to research, thetop companies driving the B2B payments marketforward are:

1. American Express
2. Bank of America
3. Capital One
4. Mastercard
5. Payoneer
6. PayPal
7. Square
8. Stripe
9. TransferWise
10. Visa

11. 8 out of 10 businesses are investing more or planning to invest in B2B payment technology for AP

In one survey, 81% of respondents有投资或计划投入吗ccounts payable (AP) B2B payment solutionsand technology in 2022, while 77% have invested or planned to invest more in accounts receivable (AR) systems. Businesses that aren’t investing in this technology may find it difficult to keep up.

12. The use of cryptocurrency for B2B cross-border transactions is expected to increase

The volume of B2B cross-border payments using cryptocurrency is expected to reach745 million by 2025。The Asian market is in the lead for blockchain B2B transactions, followed by Europe.

B2B Payments Challenges

13. 45% of businesses cite manual review as the biggest problem they face in B2B payments

Thetop three problems that businesses face when making B2B paymentsare manual review (45%), high cost of using credit (43%), and high cost of making payments (41%).

14. 90% of businesses struggle with exchange rates in B2B payments

One challenge that prevents businesses from expanding into international commerce is the complications involved with managing fluctuating foreign exchange rates. As many as 95% of finance professionals say they would be able to put more effort into international expansion if there was abetter way to handle exchange rates。Fifty-six percent say they “struggle a great deal,” and 88% say managing international payments inhibits their growth ability.

15. B2B finance professionals want 3 key things

When it comes to B2B payments, those who work in the industry wish they hadthree key features or benefitswhen it comes to B2B payment technology:

1. Fast payment process
2. No or low fees, costs, and rates
3. Easier payment methods

16. 92% of professionals believe better B2B payment processes will increase EPS

When it comes to accounts receivable, most finance professionals believeB2B payments need better processes。As many as 92% agree that more efficient systems would increase the company’s overall earnings per share (EPS). More than 60% strongly agree with this viewpoint.

17. 27% of businesses lose 6% to 10% in monthly revenue to inefficient B2B payment processes

Inefficiencies with B2B payment processes are costly to companies—76% of finance professionals believe they’velost money due to convoluted processes。More than a quarter of businesses lose up to 10% and almost half lose 4% to 5% of their monthly revenue to inefficiencies. Companies that do business internationally are twice as much at risk.

18. 50% of professionals spend 6 to 10 hours managing B2B payments each month

Managing B2B payments is both time-consuming and costly. Half of finance professionals spend up to10 hours each month managing B2B payments。他们相信这一次可能是更好的了strategy. Professionals with VP-level and higher roles believe their teams spend more than that—in fact, they’re twice as likely to think their team wastes over 20 hours each month managing B2B payments.

19. Cybersecurity is the No. 1 concern for 52% of businesses

B2B payments aren’t only time-consuming, but they’re also risky.Cybersecurity was the top AR and B2B payments concernfor more than half of finance professionals in 2022.

20. Most US businesses were affected by payment fraud in 2022

In 2022, 56% of US companies were targeted byat least one fraud attempt, with paper check fraud as the most common type of fraud. More than 10% were targeted 10+ times.

21. Security, ease of use, and functionality are the top factors affecting businesses’ decisions to use payment technologies

Half of small businesses and 66% of large businesses said thatoverall security and fraud prevention is the top factorthat will affect their decisions to use innovative payment solutions.

22. Small businesses are most interested in applying artificial intelligence (AI) or robotic process automation (RPA) to reconciliation

AI and RPA are finding their way into trends in digital payments. Twenty-one percent of small businesses areinterested in applying AI or RPA in reconciliation。Another 20% believe these innovations will reduce manual work for invoicing.

Bottom Line

An emerging B2B payment trend is the shift to digital. While this is welcome, as it brings convenience and flexibility, it also brings its own set of challenges. Expanding internationally and fighting fraud are constant struggles when it comes to B2B payments. But as banks are increasingly aware and concerned, more security andfraud prevention toolsare likely to become available.