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CompanyProfile

Streamlining an age-old process

ineralTree introduced a white-label pay-
ment automation platform for banks in
2010. Initiated as a bill-pay solution, the
M product evolved into a complete, end-to-
end accounts payable (AP) automation solution for busi-
nesses covering the entire billing process – from invoice
receipt to outbound payment. Today, the Cambridge,
Mass.-based firm employs over 100 staff and works
closely with partner banks and financial institutions.
In addition, MineralTree sells directly to middle-market
businesses. The company's portfolio consists of more ISO/MLS contact:
than 1,500 enterprises and nearly 30 financial institu- Keith Albee
tions, the company reported.
Vice President, Sales
Micah Remley, CEO at MineralTree, noted that business-
to-business processes have been slow to adopt electronic keith.albee@mineraltree.com
methods, and companies haven't been in a rush to 617-299-3399
change. "We are very much an industry niche, and still
in the early stages of introducing AP automation to the
market, which is less than 10 percent penetrated," he said.
Remley views this as an opportunity and said the firm challenge is once they start giving people cards, they can
is "seeing momentum tick up" despite the fact that "the give sensitive information to vendors," he said. "Virtual
finance function has been a very old-school process and cards allow a company to integrate and remove this risk.
digitization is taking time."
Paired with business tools He emphasized that the other real security benefit is the
segregation of all these duties. "Manual processes are
According to Remley, MineralTree and its automated subject to fraud, but with MineralTree, you don't have
AP solutions are perfectly poised to help businesses to worry because we segregate these functions and use
easily cross this divide. On the reseller side, the solution dual-factor authentication," he said.
is integrated into the rails of a number of banks and Perfect for today's business
enterprise resource management (ERP) applications,
enabling them to readily offer the solution to business As current business processes are rapidly evolving, Rem-
clients. "We've focused on the more common ERPs in the ley feels MineralTree's technology is now, more than ever,
market and also built technology allowing us to connect in the right place and time. "Surprisingly, the finance
with more industry-specific applications," Remley said. function is one that is often the most reliant on in-office
He also believes linking to a company's system of record work and the one least prepared for the remote work sce-
is paramount. "ERP systems are a key place for us to drive narios unfolding around the world today," Remley said.
efficiency, because we have to get the information in and "Manual invoice processing and generation, in-person
out of the finance system," he stated. approvals, signatures, and lots of paper still dominate
B2B payment innovation many finance teams." This has prompted MineralTree to
push more clients to virtual cards and provide more tools
Remley also pointed out that MineralTree has incorporated to more easily manage AP processes. "Working capital
innovative payment features. "The application also offers needs are very real in today's environment," Remley said.
virtual card solutions that enable a business to accept
direct payment without the burden of paying with a He also confirmed that a new MineralTree design con-
check," he said. cept is in the works, as well as added artificial intelligence
features to make the product even easier to use. Miner-
He has also observed that roughly 70 percent of payments alTree's vendor management functionality is being over-
are still done with a check in the mid-market sector, hauled, as well.
and MineralTree's virtual card product offers a digital
alternative. "Virtual cards allow a business to issue one- "We are building out the network of vendors and includ-
time tokenized cards for a single use," he said. ing the terms in which they'll accept virtual cards," Rem-
ley stated, noting this feature provides business custom-
Additionally, Remley noted the virtual card process ers with added control over spending and affords them a
exemplifies security. "Most corporations have a card better understanding of the companies in their network.
program that allows them to pay for expenses, but the
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