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Insights and Expertise
ChapterTitle
StreetSmarts SM

Why you and your merchants need B2B payments

By Allen Kopelman and full authorization forms for high-ticket items.
Nationwide Payment Systems Inc. • Lower interchange rates: Reduce interchange costs

t's a wonder why so many businesses accept with B2B processing solutions that collect addition-
only checks and cash from clients and vendors. I al data on qualifying Level 2 and Level 3 transac-
tions. Including sales tax, purchase order number,
explored the world of B2B payments in a May 2,
I 2025, episode of B2B Vault: The Biz to Biz Podcast, and other details can lower transaction costs by as
much as 30 to 100 basis points.
with Roger McNamara, who has served as director of B2B
acceptance at Visa for the past three years, managing a • Maintain compliance: Avoid fines and penalties by
portfolio of $60 billion in commercial card spend. continuously upgrading and enhancing processing
systems to meet everchanging security, regulatory
I've known Roger for nearly three decades, ever since he and compliance trends, such as Visa's recent mandate
visited my Boca Raton restaurant and convinced me to ac- for fast dynamic data authentication (fDDA).
cept American Express. His payments journey has includ-
ed leadership roles at American Express and ADP and es- • Streamline operations: Improve efficiency with vir-
tablishing Guide2Interchange, a training and consulting tual cards and payment integrations into ERP, CRM
company. Here are key takeaways from our discussion. and accounting systems.

Untapped market • Tax benefits: Deduct credit costs to offset fees associ-
ated with credit card acceptance.
I was surprised to learn that 35 percent of B2B payments
are made by check and only 8 percent are made by card. Considering all the value and benefits that credit cards
From Roger's perspective, this creates a massive oppor- have to offer business owners, Roger noted, it would be
tunity for ISOs and merchant level salespeople (MLSs) to a mistake to view them only as a cost of doing business.
educate merchants on the cost savings and value of com- And yet, numerous merchants overlook how payment
mercial card acceptance. cards drive customer insights, improve cash flow, and
help businesses differentiate between legitimate custom-
"MLSs and ISOs who focus on consumer payments are ers and fraudsters, he added.
swimming in a crowded pool," he said, adding that B2B is
a $25 trillion and mostly untouched market that offers an In addition, he pointed out that payment cards can be a
array of merchant benefits, including the following:
highly effective collection tool. "When you factor in the
• Accelerated cash flow: Stop being the bank for cus- time value of money, payment acceleration, and reduced
tomers and reduce Net 30/60/90 to Net 15 or faster administrative costs, card acceptance often beats waiting
terms for commercial card transactions. Focus on 30 days for an ACH," he said.
your core business, not chasing receivables.
He went on to say that merchants can reduce acceptance
• Reduced risk of fraud: Eliminate the need to extend costs by incentivizing customers with early-pay discounts
credit and mitigate bad debt through payment card ac- or passing along modest 1 and 1.5 percent convenience
ceptance. Reduce risk of fraud with e-signature tools fees.
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