4 ways that bill pay system providers can improve payment delivery

When someone makes a payment using their banking technology, that bank or credit union often depends on you as a bill pay system provider to provide the technology behind the experience. In turn, you turn to payment delivery solution providers like WEX to help get payments from Point A to Point B. 

While a payment delivery solution provider focuses on a back-end system, banking customers can feel the pain on the front end if it’s not the best experience for various reasons.

If you’re a bill pay system provider, here are four expectations to have of any payment delivery solution provider you choose to work with: 

New revenue opportunities

The challenge

Some payment methods (such as paying by check) cost more than others. One estimate says each paper check costs between $4 and $20 to process.

What you can do

Find a payment delivery solution that includes virtual cards. Virtual cards cut costs and open up new revenue streams via rebates. This blog post will help you identify what to look for when evaluating virtual card providers. 

Reliable, robust credit

The challenge

Credit is so important for payment technology companies, especially when cash flow is tight due to internal or even external factors such as inflation and high interest rates.

What you can do

Choose a B2B payments platform provider that also offers credit lines that allow you to facilitate all of your payments with the support to back them up. 

Reconciliation efficiency

The challenge

You’re looking for a way to support 1-to-1 payments in a cost-effective and timely way. A single issue with one or more payments can create huge problems to reconcile, which affects cash-on-hand availability and unwelcome distractions for payment teams. 

What you can do

There are a couple different things you can look for when evaluating a payments technology partner: 

• Choose a partner who supports bill-by-bill reconciliation with virtual cards rather than one big bill. That way you don’t have to unravel an entire bill to reconcile the issue. 
• Choose a partner with strong relationships and a track record with major card networks such as MasterCard or Visa. 

Reduced fraud

The challenge

Roughly 70% of North American financial institutions say they’ve experienced increased fraud in 2023, according to one study. Fraud comes with tangible and intangible costs to those affected, damaging trust and vital business relationships. 

What you can do

There are many ways you can reduce fraud, including: 

• Again, virtual cards can help here, too. Purchases made with virtual cards are seven times less likely to be subject to fraud than check payments. Virtual cards also experience less fraud than physical cards or ACH payments, according to the same study. 
• A trusted technology partner with experience in reducing fraud. Card schemes and greater controls can reduce fraud risk. 
• Choose payment options where cards are only open for one week rather than months. Fraudsters like to attack entire bins of cards.

Would you like to learn more about how WEX can help you improve your payment delivery? Go to https://www.wexinc.com/products/business-payments/payment-delivery/.