A new study from Juniper Research has found that the transaction value of B2B domestic payments across payment methods will exceed $54-trillion in 2023, up from $49-trillion in 2021.
The research predicts a growth of 10%; reflecting a slow recovery in business activity following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The research identified that, while many businesses are now operating at pre-pandemic levels, the longer-term economic consequences of the pandemic are still restricting value growth. As such, leveraging payments automation to reduce manual work and boosting small business cashflow will be critical to recovery.
The new research, B2B Payments: Key Opportunities, Vendor Strategies & Market Forecasts 2021-2026, found that the need to automate B2B payments at scale is leading to a fundamental shift in the way payments are made.
It is forecast that the volume of B2B domestic cheque payments will fall by 30% globally between 2021 and 2023, with cash payments falling by 11% over the same period. The need to automate payments means a shift towards more easily automated payment types, such as card and instant payments.
Research author Nick Maynard explains: “The pandemic has accelerated the transition away from traditional payment types, with growth focused on instant payments and card payments. This transition will be important for automation, but will take some time, given the established nature of these processes.”
The research found that, by 2023, global instant payment transaction volumes in the B2B domestic channel will grow by 56%; the fastest of any single payment method. The research identified the launch of instant payment schemes that can carry additional remittance data as having significant potential for simplifying the complex B2B payments ecosystem.
However, it acknowledged the uneven state of instant payments scheme roll-outs as a critical limiting factor, with Europe moving much faster than North America.