Tech Mahindra and Mastercard announced a partnership to embed Mastercard virtual cards and payment capabilities into large companies’ existing ERP and procurement systems. Tech Mahindra will handle API integration, payment automation, real-time reconciliation, fraud management and payment controls. The goal is better working capital, tighter spend control and easier supplier onboarding without replacing systems. No specific ERP vendors, customers or dates were announced.

What it means: Business-to-business payments are still largely manual: invoices approved by email, transfers made in online banking and reconciliation done in spreadsheets. The idea of embedded payments is to settle an invoice inside the same system where it is approved, with a single-use virtual card that limits fraud and gives the buyer extra days of credit. For suppliers the price is the card fee, so accepting virtual cards is not always straightforward. In Greece the topic is closely linked to e-invoicing: once all invoices pass digitally through providers and myDATA, matching invoices to payments automatically becomes far more achievable. Greek ERP and accounting software vendors can offer similar features with banks or payment institutions, using either cards or instant transfers through IRIS or SEPA Instant. The key decision for each business is which payment method suits each type of supplier, weighing cost, speed and fraud risk, rather than adopting one solution for everyone.

Read the original on Tech Mahindra

Related service: myDATA integrations

Related stories