Instant Payment and Virtual IBANs: quick wins for finance departments

From 1 July 2024, any company founded in France must accept electronic invoices. The time is now to start preparing for the change, or risk waiting until it is too late. Yet the advent of electronic invoicing is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the challenges financial departments face from the digitalisation of their work, and with it, payment management thanks to Instant Payment and Virtual IBANs.

Getting paid may sound simple, yet remains one of the major challenges for companies, finance departments especially, as it requires being paid on time, in the right amount, by the right supplier, via a simple and intuitive process. Making this process reliable and secure reduces chargebacks as much as possible, which otherwise weakens a company’s financial health.

One way to empower finance teams and allow them to initiate payments to the creditor, is to couple payment initiation with Instant Payment. This combination allows the creditor to receive payment in real time, while simplifying the payment procedure for the debtor.

Manual pay-out procedures are a hassle for finance teams, especially when it is only the CFO authorised to make them. Instant Payment is an indispensable asset that can be integrated into automation tools (ERP, software publishers, etc.) because it simplifies work for teams, and optimises their processing time. Moreover, it is possible to combine automation and Instant Payment to improve customer satisfaction – refunds can be made in 10 seconds.

The sheer volume of payment flows a company handles from stakeholders creates significant work for teams. For companies without integrated automation and tracking tools, reconciling inbound payments with existing invoices is a similarly time-consuming task. Finance departments that automate processes can gain efficiency and spend more time on value-added tasks. Innovative solutions can meet this challenge, such as Virtual IBANs, which offer visibility and save time. Inbound transactions can be authenticated without requiring payers to enter a transfer reference, a common source of error. By associating each pay-in with a virtual IBAN, each customer’s payment can be tracked in real time.

Is payment tracking an Achilles heel for finance teams? While finance departments have not yet reached maturity in terms of digital transformation, a recent PwC study, Priorities 2023 for Finance Departments, found 93% plan to invest in digitalising their function in the short term.

Digitalising corporate financial processes is a long and sometimes tricky process, not to mention the risk that must be identified and controlled throughout the payment chain. It is therefore essential to put in place quick wins (as Instant Payment and Virtual IBANs) that fast bear fruit and to mobilise all stakeholders.