Businesses have lots of money and time invested in their enterprise resource planning platforms. And rightfully so. The ERP is the financial nerve center of the business and the system of record. ERPs manage supplier data, payment terms, purchasing information, and more. But ERPs require fast access to complete and accurate payment and supplier data.
And therein lies the rub.
Most businesses rely on a hodgepodge of point solutions and closed-loop networks for managing their accounts payable (AP), accounts receivable (AR) and payments processes. Each of these point solutions and closed-loop networks have unique logins and passwords, user requirements, file formats, and proprietary integrations.
The Result?
- Key information is not captured
- Data is inaccurate
- Information is poorly organized
- Data is not timely
- Systems are fragmented
- Decision-makers don’t have access to the variables they need to make an informed decision
IT departments must dedicate lots of resources trying to overcome these issues with custom code, workarounds, standalone processes, ad hoc reporting, software bots – the list goes on and on.
Despite the best efforts of IT, the AP, AR, and payment processes at most businesses are inefficient, unnecessarily complex, and risky. And things only become more complicated for everyone involved – including IT – as a business grows, expands globally, and adds more ERP applications.
What IT Likes About Embedded Payments
These problems will never be solved without better integration between payment systems and ERPs.
Without seamless integration, businesses will inevitably face manual tasks, payment and data silos, and lots of overhead. That’s a big reason that many businesses struggle to get payback on their ERP investments. Poorly integrated payment systems also make it harder for banks and fintechs to develop the AP, AR, and payments solutions that their business customers demand.
Every payment type, payment rail, originating bank account, and ERP that businesses use may require a long and costly programming effort by their bank or fintech – draining resources from their core mission.
Embedded payments offer weary IT departments a solution.
Embedded solutions enable businesses to make payments of any type, using any payment rail or originating account, directly from the familiar screens of their legacy software or
ERP application. The technology integrates with any legacy software, ERP, or bank API layer. And these solutions go in fast, with minimal IT involvement, and without disrupting existing systems and processes.
With just a few clicks of the mouse, AP professionals can disburse or schedule single or mass payments to suppliers and individuals. There also is the option to notify payees that their payment has been approved and invite them to use a portal to choose how they would like to be paid.
Embedded payment solutions deliver big benefits for IT:
Enhanced Customer Experience
Embedded payment solutions reduce the need for IT to “bolt-on” payment capabilities and potentially impact the customer experience.
Bi-directional synchronization of data between embedded payment systems and an ERP accelerates the delivery of perfected data downstream.
By embedding a payments solution into a legacy ERP platform, IT can level the playing field with their peers at digital-born competitors who are not encumbered with old technology; interoperability makes it possible to quickly add new capabilities.
By integrating payments into existing systems, IT departments can help their line of business users can better control payment execution and timing.
Embedded payment solutions help IT departments achieve economies of scale by reducing the number of systems and custom integrations that they maintain.
Eliminating payment and data silos and aggregating all payment data onto a
single platform reduces the need for IT to create custom and ad hoc reports.
Leading embedded payment solutions provide bank-grade security. By embedding payments functionality into existing software and ERP platforms, IT departments can accelerate the payback on their legacy investments and achieve incremental savings through better efficiency, reduced complexity, the consolidation of payment and data silos, and less chance of risk.
The IT departments at banks and fintechs can help their organization meet the ever-increasing demand for payment solutions while achieving operational efficiencies in a highly secure environment. At a time when IT is being stretched thin,
embedded payment solutions are the way to go.
Learn how we are helping IT teams achieve operational efficiency with SMART Disburse.