B2B platforms can ignite engagement with intelligent payment solutions

Payment platforms need to create solutions that serve small to medium enterprises with the right tools, capabilities and functionalities as these are critical to helping them thrive. 

As a digital platform, you need to create solutions that serve small to medium enterprises (SMEs) so they can thrive. Why?

Because SMEs sell. What they sell, how they sell it and when they sell - these are all variables defined by sector, industry and niche. But how they are paid…well, that’s an entirely different story. 

SMEs often have to battle through complex hoops and clamber over difficult mountains of paperwork and admin to simply set up a payment system that meets their customer’s needs and ensures they get paid on time.

It’s challenging but platforms are changing the shape of the market with payment solutions that are revolutionary for SMEs. 

How platform payments are evolving to meet the intricate needs of SMEs 

Payment solutions provided by platforms have advanced to meet the challenges faced by SMEs. Smoother and more efficient, they are designed to mitigate problems such as poor payments, fraud, refunds, card fees and chargebacks. All problems that add to the SMEs bottom line and affect profitability and growth.

The truth is SMEs need better options when it comes to payments. More than one-third of SMEs in the United Kingdom are experiencing cashflow difficulties due to late payments and nearly 440,000 companies could be forced to close down due to poor payment practices and cashflow. According to The Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales, half of the invoices issued by small businesses are paid late, with the average receiving payment nearly a week late. The cost to business owners is £684 million a year.

This is why platforms play a crucial role in helping SMEs overcome cash flow and payment challenges through intelligent solutions and embedded finance services. 

What to consider in a payment platform

However, not all payment platforms are created equal. Therefore, it's important for SMEs to consider the following qualities when selecting the right platform for their needs:

• A payment solution that allows for the SME to connect where the customer sits - at the edge of their comfort zone and with payment options that suit their unique needs. This allows the SME to build stronger customer relationships and create frictionless payment experiences. Payments friction is one of the biggest causes of dropped sales and poor customer engagement.
  

• Trust is critical - SMEs that can assure customers of payment options through trusted platforms can measurably increase their turnover as customers feel reassured and secured.
  

• A payment platform that’s frictionless and proven in its capabilities to ensure that SMEs are provided with the right levels of support so they can mitigate cashflow risks, reduce admin, and gain access to diverse payment methods that align with their own payment systems.
  

• An affordable and accessible payment platform, so its services are realistically affordable for cash-strapped SMEs and go the extra mile when it comes to payment visibility, speed and variety.

How to choose a suitable payment solution for your platform that best serves the SME

A fully embedded solution that provides the SME with complete payment control alongside a single source of truth for tracking payment solutions in real-time and allows the SME to view balances, investigate fees and locate invoices is a perfect choice for a payment platform.

It’s the choice that the IRIS Software Group made when they partnered with UNIPaaS to create a solution that met every one of the SME pain points and that was designed to make the life of the SME owner, bookkeeper and accountant a thousand times easier.

IRIS pay provides SMEs with quick, simple and secure customer invoice payments, resolving one of the biggest SME challenges with easy invoicing and payment collections. Everything is automated - the SME sends a payment link, the customer can choose how to pay using various payment methods, and then the paid invoice is created with no effort. Plus, SMEs are paid in seconds using Instant Bank Transfer through Open Banking, and this goes a long way to reducing cashflow challenges for the SME.

How UNIPaaS makes it all happen for the SME and the payment platform

At UNIPaaS we know that SMEs want richly layered and secure platforms that are compliant and that ensure they are ahead of the game. They also want solutions that understand their challenges and help them overcome them easily. SMEs don’t want to deal with multiple suppliers across multiple touchpoints and they don’t have the capacity to manage even more admin and complexity.

UNIPaaS helps the SME sidestep complexity and enjoy frictionless payment prosperity with an end-to-end SaaS payment solution designed to enhance the offerings made by digital platforms and B2B marketplaces. Our solution is designed to provide platforms with the ability to create new financial growth engines through intelligent services and capabilities, and we help companies create stickiness and loyalty while delivering lifetime value and exceptional experiences.

Our partnership with Nomisma echoes this. As Ash Hall, Head of Product, said, "At Nomisma, we're proud of our partnership with UNIPaaS and its cutting-edge embedded finance solution. By joining forces, we can offer our customers streamlined payment processes, increased accounting accuracy, and an overall enhanced customer experience. As a company devoted to supporting accountants and SMEs, we're excited about the potential of UNIPaaS' technology to change the game and revolutionize the market. With the launch of Nomipay, we're confident this partnership will bring significant benefits to our customers and transform the industry."

Start your journey with UNIPaaS and refine and redefine your entire payments experience. 

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