Barclaycard Commercial Payments, part of Barclays Bank PLC has announced a strategic partnership with SAP UK Limited. The partnership will see Barclaycard integrate its business-to-business (B2B) payment product, Precisionpay, into SAP Ariba solutions.
SAP Ariba solution is the world’s largest B2B marketplace where buyers and suppliers, operate in more than 190 countries and trade $2.3 trillion in goods and services each year.
The integration will bring procurement and payment together in one place, Ariba Network, giving users an end-to-end procurement experience. The first Barclaycard product to launch within Ariba Network will be Precisionpay Bank Transfer. Precisionpay combines the benefits of card payments for buyers with the cost-effectiveness of bank transfers for suppliers. The new integration is expected to become available later this year,
Flexible payments options
With Precisionpay Bank Transfer, buyers will be able to pay suppliers much earlier in the procurement cycle. According to the company, this should improve supplier relationships and allow them to take advantage of any prompt payment discounts. Buyers could also benefit from access to flexible working capital. Instead of having to pay the supplier directly, Barclaycard could fund the payment. The buyer would then typically have up to 56 days to pay the balance. From the supplier’s perspective, prompt payment improves cash flow, making the business more resilient.
SAP Ariba solutions customers that use Precisionpay will benefit from access to data-led procurement insights gained through SAP cloud solutions, SAP Cloud Platform and the SAP Analytics Cloud solution. These insights will help users make smarter payment and procurement decisions, with minimal impact or change to their own internal technical footprint.
Major Players
In 2017 Barclaycard processed over £250 billion in transactions globally.
Marc Pettican, managing director, Barclaycard Commercial Payments, said: “Since launching the UK’s first corporate credit card over 50 years ago, Barclaycard has been pushing the boundaries to create payment solutions that help make our clients more successful. In global procurement, payment has always been the part of the process that has created the most friction. So we’re really excited to be partnering with SAP to make B2B payments as simple and seamless as possible.”
Jens Amail, managing director, SAP UK Limited and SAP Ireland Limited, suggested, “Barclaycard is a long-term strategic partner for SAP. We are now taking this partnership to the next level by collectively redefining the corporate payments market with a highly innovative platform. The introduction of early settlement flexibility will truly revolutionise the industry and bring so much more value to Barclaycard customers.”
Enterprise Times: What this means for businesses
Barclaycard has always been a pioneer of new forms of digital payment. According to analysts, it remains in the forefront of developing viable and cutting-edge contactless and mobile payment schemes for business. Barclaycard also partners with a wide range of organisations across the globe to offer their customers and members payment options and credit.
Through Precisionpay Bank Transfer, buyers will have an opportunity to pay suppliers much earlier in the procurement cycle. Nearly a quarter of UK businesses report that late payments are a threat to their survival. Tackling them represents a huge opportunity for economic growth, with research from the Federation of Small Businesses suggesting it could add £2.5 billion to the UK economy and keep an extra 50,000 businesses open each year.
If this new strategic partnership, alleviates the issue of late payments, then it would definitely be a step in the right direction. Could this new partnership become the game changer as loudly proclaimed by both parties? Only time will tell. The initial integration into Ariba Network, will be a good testing ground for the partnership.
