Understanding ePayables: Meaning, How They Work, Fees, & Benefits

Mizuho’s Commercial Card service is managed within the organization’s treasury management group and is a valuable component of Mizuho’s overall Cash Management solutions suite. Our Commercial Card service offering delivers a very competitive Virtual Card offering to help solve the needs of our treasury management clients. Virtual cards (also known as ghost cards or single-use cards) are digital credit cards that can be used to make payments online. Virtual cards are typically issued by a bank or credit card company and can be used to pay suppliers, vendors, and other service providers. Whether you prefer to use a credit card, ACH, or other digital payment methods, we enable you to tailor payments to your business needs. That means you can use any credit card, even for vendors who don’t accept them.

What are the key technologies in electronic payables?

Without tight integration, payment data can become siloed or out of sync, leading to errors in reconciliation and reporting. While most modern platforms offer out-of-the-box connectors or APIs, implementation still requires careful planning, coordination with IT, and rigorous testing. Implementing an ePayables solution can bring significant long-term benefits—but it also requires upfront planning, cross-functional collaboration, and change management. Below are five of the most common challenges businesses face when shifting from traditional payment methods to an ePayables model. EPayables are processed like card payments and are subject to standard merchant pricing. Depending on the card network, method used (swiped vs. keyed in), and payment terms, typical processing fees range from around 1.3% to 3.5%.

• The use of ePayables and virtual cards for B2B payments is growing, and they are quickly becoming an alternative to checks and ACH in the accounts payable payments process.
• This not only helps speed up the payment cycle but can also minimize the risk of human error.
• EPayables programs can be structured so that even your most cost-sensitive suppliers find that accepting card payments is a costeffective solution.
• It is mandatory to ensure that all departments, including accounts, procurement and finance, are on board with the implementation of the epayables platform solution.
• Instead of swiping your physical card, you use your credit card as a virtual card.

Commercial ePayables Scorecard

• This improves reporting, simplifies reconciliation, and provides full visibility into the payment lifecycle.
• For AP professionals and finance managers, understanding and leveraging an epayables platform can be a game-changer.
• That report will be available in the coming months to Javelin Strategy & Research clients.
• While the ACH will keep payments in bulk during transfer, ePayables will distribute the funds according to vendor CC numbers.
• Bank offering blends technology and a host of services and includes comprehensive customer support and dedicated account management services.

Advanced analytics and AI technologies enable businesses to unlock the potential of all this data effectively. By analyzing historical patterns, organizations can identify cost-saving opportunities, optimize working capital management, and mitigate risks. Data-driven insights also facilitate strategic decision-making, helping organizations negotiate favorable terms with suppliers and enhance overall financial performance.

Secure and convenient payments for everyone players across the commercial landscape

The AP team verifies the invoice by checking for accuracy, matching it with purchase orders, and confirming that goods or services were received. EPayables are increasingly used in enterprise AP automation programs and are especially valuable for companies handling high invoice volumes or prioritizing fraud prevention and efficiency. Integrating ePayables into your AP workflow allows you to automate routine tasks like recurring bills, batch payments, and vendor onboarding so your team has more time to focus on strategic initiatives. EPayables streamline your payment system by automating workflows, cutting down on manual invoice processing, and reducing errors. Streamline your organization’s exchange of data and automation with a variety of secure file transfer methods, payment file transmissions and custom reconciliation file delivery.

HighRadius Named as a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Invoice-to-Cash Applications

Lending, derivatives, and other commercial banking activities are provided in the Americas by Mizuho Bank, Ltd. and its subsidiaries, including Mizuho Bank (USA). Securities, strategic advisory, and other investment banking services are provided in the Americas by Mizuho Securities USA Inc., which is a U.S. This advertisement is not intended for businesses located in regions outside the Americas © 2021 Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. https://quickresponseelectricalservice.com/bookkeeping-services-austin/ Broad adoption by suppliers is always a challenge to even more robust Virtual Card/ePayables growth, as there is work to be done to ensure they understand the value of these type of payments.

What About Fees?

• An ePayable payment usually deposits the funds into a vendor’s bank account within two business days.
• Checks remain an integral part of how companies pay each other but this comes at a price.
• We consider virtual credit cards to be one of many epayables solutions, including traditional credit cards, real-time payments, and direct deposit banking transfers.
• Existing Truist clients are encouraged to contact their relationship managers with inquiries related to commercial products and services.
• The supplier charges the ePayable, and the money is transferred to their bank account.
• Despite the growing number of ePayable solutions, the commercial sector is still very much dominated by paper checks — which to many may seem to be an archaic way of doing business.

Discover the power of epayables with AvidXchange and start your journey towards an optimized financial operation. Once you decide to optimize your AP process with an EAP solution, following proven guidelines can quicken your implementation readiness and ensure results are thoroughly captured and recognized. Focusing on key supplier attributes and payment behaviors helps shore up ePayables key suppliers and purchase/payment categories that are right for EAP. By making it a priority to conduct a more granular supplier segmentation and deeper cost-benefit analysis, buyers can highlight supplier opportunities and address pain points in a much more balanced and equitable fashion. Once you’ve developed your business plan, begin reaching out to suppliers to get them on board. Ensure your strategy includes the flexibility to adapt as you add new suppliers, or if your procurement needs change.

And even more importantly these days, when purchases are made through a catalog, card is how suppliers now want to be paid. Buyers gravitate toward this type of online purchasing too, in part because that’s How to Run Payroll for Restaurants the way those in Procurement positions have become accustomed to making purchases conveniently in their personal lives as consumers. ECatalogs have also become popular with buyers because they facilitate lower, negotiated pricing on frequently purchased commodity products.

Prepare a Business Plan

ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments are direct bank-to-bank transfers, whereas ePayables typically use virtual credit cards issued at the time of invoice approval. Virtual card technology used in ePayables enhances payment security through single-use credentials, transaction limits, and expiration controls. These safeguards significantly reduce the risk of fraud, unauthorized payments, and data breaches, making digital payments more secure than checks or even ACH transfers. Once the ePayables process is in place, its impact extends far beyond faster payments. By replacing manual, fragmented workflows with secure, automated transactions, finance teams can unlock measurable improvements in cost, efficiency, and control. Below are the core benefits of ePayables that make them a strategic investment for AP and treasury leaders.