FinTech firms are taking on real-time payments for business-to-business (B2B) use cases – and teaming with banking partners to drive innovation. AvidXchange, for instance, worked with Fifth Third Bank to enhance B2B payments while leveraging the inherent capabilities in the RTP network from The Clearing House. The team was named the overall winner in the recent RTP Buildathon with its submission that offered supplier alerts to provide discounts to buyers, immediate supplier payments, real-time funds availability inquiry capabilities and full payments transparency between parties.
While consumers may be able to wrap their heads around real-time payments for, say, lunch, the firm aims to be more selective for use cases in the B2B space. The company seeks to prove out the technology and, more importantly, to “bring value to both our buyers and our suppliers,” AvidXchange Senior Vice President of Supplier Services Denise Leleux told PYMNTS in an interview. She said the use case the company chose to work on with Fifth Third Bank “did exactly that.” Buyers need to be able invoices faster so they can take advantage of early pay discounts, Leleux noted, while suppliers want to get paid faster for cash flow purposes.