Modernizing B2B Payments: Scaling Card Acceptance and Reducing Friction

B2B payments are undergoing a structural shift from manual, back-office processes toward card-based systems as industry leaders move to eliminate operational friction. According to Nick White, Senior Vice President of Commercial Acceptance at Mastercard, the total addressable opportunity within B2B payments is approximately $80 trillion.

Despite the scale of the market, a significant gap remains between supplier capabilities and buyer needs. White stated that two-thirds of B2B suppliers report that they’re not meeting their buyers’ expectations for their payment experience.

The transition is driven by aligning interests: buyers seek increased security, control and working-capital flexibility, while suppliers prioritize faster payments, reduced administrative burdens, and fewer late receivables. This shift is reflected in supplier expectations, with White noting that nearly half of [suppliers] are saying that they expect to be asked to take card for a B2B payment.

Addressing Operational Friction Through Virtual Cards

While virtual cards are often viewed as a primary solution for B2B payments, their utility lies in reconciling the competing priorities of buyers and suppliers. For buyers, these tools provide improved cash flow management, granular spending control, and potential rebates. Suppliers benefit from streamlined processes, reduced credit risk, and accelerated payment speeds.

Paul Uher, Head of Commercial and Corporate Banking Merchant Services at Wells Fargo, noted that suppliers are now more central to these discussions due to the operational challenges they face. A primary area for improvement is the integration of virtual cards into existing workflows to ensure that remittance data and payments flow without manual intervention.

With straight-through processing and reconciliation, we can take the payment instruction, settle the payment and move the reconciliation information with no human intervention

Nick White, Mastercard Senior Vice President of Commercial Acceptance

The goal of this ecosystem connectivity is to route transactions through the appropriate rails and move money and information simultaneously without creating new manual burdens for the parties involved.

The Evolving Role of the Acquirer

As the focus shifts toward supplier operations, the role of the acquirer is evolving from a transaction processor into a strategic orchestrator. In B2B environments, card acceptance remains consultative rather than standard, requiring acquirers to coordinate a complex system involving issuers, networks, treasury functions, and ERP environments.

Uher emphasized that acquirers must possess specific foundational capabilities to prevent card-based B2B payments from remaining in pilot phases. These include:

• ERP file integration and automated posting.
• Invoice presentment and straight-through processing.
• The ability to route payments intelligently across different rails.
• Sales teams capable of understanding the nuances of B2B acceptance.

providers must employ a multithreaded sales approach because suppliers are not monolithic. While treasury departments may prioritize working capital, finance operations are typically more concerned with labor costs and reconciliation. White stated that it is no longer enough just to talk to the person who’s signing off the bill for a payment and acceptance.

Practical Applications of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is being positioned as a practical tool to reduce friction across the supplier lifecycle. White identified AI’s primary initial use case as providing intelligence to identify suppliers likely to accept cards, which allows for more relevant sales narratives and the automation of onboarding and outreach at scale.

Uher suggested that AI’s most immediate value may be found upstream in the decision-making process. Specifically, AI can help suppliers determine the most efficient routing for transactions, such as deciding between card, ACH, or wire transfers based on the specific transaction.

White described the current market as an inflection point, citing a combination of stronger demand from buyers and a greater openness among suppliers. Uher advised suppliers to engage their current providers to identify unused capabilities and plan the workflow changes necessary to simplify acceptance.