Balance

📰 What’s the latest in B2B? From AI and payments and trade, here’s what caught the Balance team’s attention this week: 📡 Amazon Web Services (AWS) says the future of payments is already here. PYMNTS shares that cloud-native infrastructure and generative AI are enabling financial institutions to build and scale payment solutions faster while delivering personalized services and new business models. With innovations around real-time payments, ISO 20022 and user experiences, AWS notes that financial institutions are now using AI to boost efficiency, cut costs, and open new revenue streams. 🌏 Alibaba Group’s international ecommerce sales grew 25% year over year to $18.4B, driven by strong performance from AliExpress and Lazada. Digital Commerce 360 reports that while Alibaba.com’s B2B revenue dipped 7%, executives said the focus is on long-term value with better tools for merchants and smarter AI-powered services. Losses in the international division narrowed, signaling progress as the company continues to invest in logistics and AI to strengthen cross-border trade for SMEs. 💸 Corporate AI investments are climbing, with 21% of companies now spending over $10M on AI, up from 16% last year, according to EY. A third of leaders expect to hit that level next year as agentic AI becomes a bigger focus for process automation, IT efficiency and customer support.  Nearly three-quarters of executives believe entire business units could eventually be run by AI. Even though adoption is still slowed by concerns around privacy and regulation, many see this as a path to major gains in innovation and growth. 📉 The U.S. economy is showing signs of stalling as tariff uncertainty impacts manufacturing output, hiring and inventory levels, according to the National Association of Manufacturers - NAM. Production remains weak outside aerospace, and the sector lost 15,000 jobs in May and June. Job openings also fell 28% year over year. Panelists at a recent Supply Chain Industry Dive event said many manufacturers are taking a wait-and-see approach as new tariffs loom, adding costs and slowing investment. Those building contingency plans and adapting early may be best positioned to weather the uncertainty. We’re curating finance industry highlights every week. Follow 👉 Balance so you won’t miss an update. Links to the articles in the comments.

So you've approved your B2B customers for credit, and now they’re ready to complete the purchase at checkout… 🛒 How do you make sure they don’t abandon their carts? 🎧 Hear from Kurt Barnes on why the success of a Pay by Invoice program at this stage of the buying journey comes down to execution. ⚙️ If the experience doesn’t align with how business buyers actually purchase, they won’t complete the transaction and the program won’t scale. 📉 🔗 Listen in and explore more Pay by Invoice best practices here > https://lnkd.in/g5aT_xrf #b2bcommerce #b2becommerce #b2bpayments

➡️ From instant bank connection via RTP to self-serve credit limit increase requests, the Balance team launched powerful new features in the first half of this year. Check out the highlights ⬇️ Explore all product updates > https://lnkd.in/giFQdFTq #b2bpayments #b2becommerce #b2bcommerce

📊 61% of B2B companies say operational efficiency is their top digital commerce priority, according to a new Adobe report. In payments, the challenge is eliminating manual workflows, overcoming fragmented systems, and managing complexity. 🔁 From automating net terms and credit decisions to streamlining invoicing and reconciliation, a modern B2B payment infrastructure plays a critical role in reducing friction, removing complexity, and freeing internal teams to focus on growth. Learn more > https://lnkd.in/dNu4uw9 #b2bpayments #b2becommerce #b2bcommerce

➡️ As more B2C companies expand into B2B, a key question comes up: how do you offer net terms and manage credit risk at scale? Should you build an in-house AR team 🏗️ or partner with a provider 🤝? We break down the tradeoffs and what to consider before you decide. 👇 https://lnkd.in/gjmMPhfQ #b2bpayments #b2becommerce #b2bcommerce #accountsreceivable #tradecredit

🔍 Want to get caught up on the latest in B2B? The Balance team highlights the stories making waves in payments, AI and commerce. 📈 An Adobe survey of 225 B2B leaders finds buyers expect seamless, personalized digital experiences like in B2C. Top performers are outpacing peers by using AI and Gen AI for personalization and content, while 64% still cite system integration as a key challenge. The report calls for greater focus on digital self-service, AI adoption, and scalable platforms to drive growth. 📊 A new Harvard Business Review analysis shared by PYMNTS highlights why choosing the right AI model matters for businesses in regulated industries. While generalist models like ChatGPT excel at broad tasks, specialist models trained on domain frameworks deliver better accuracy and transparency for complex decisions in fields such as finance or healthcare. The authors recommend that companies ask AI vendors about transparency and domain expertise to ensure solutions can meet evolving enterprise needs. 💸 Real-time payments adoption is accelerating, with Federal Reserve System’s FedNow seeing Q2 transaction volume jump 63% to 2.1M payments, while The Clearing House RTP network rose 8% to 107M payments, according to both groups’ data. RTP still dominates with 98% of U.S. real-time payments activity and $481B processed in Q2, but FedNow handled $245.8B as usage expands. 🌍 CNBC and Statista have unveiled their 2025 list of the world’s top 300 fintech companies, highlighting firms driving innovation in payments, AI, crypto and more. Despite global fintech funding dropping 20% last year to a seven-year low of $95.6B per KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech report, the sector continues to see major shifts. And yes, Balance made it to the list! Learn more > https://lnkd.in/gJJymkDm We’re curating finance industry highlights every week. Follow 👉 Balance so you won’t miss an update. Links to the articles in the comments.

🤖 Over half of AR processes in mid-to-large enterprises will be augmented by AI and machine learning by 2027, according to PYMNTS. From automated dunning and AI-powered collection agents to intelligent cash application, AI is helping AR teams work faster, reduce manual tasks, and focus on what matters most: building strong customer relationships and driving better outcomes. ✨ Choosing a digital trade credit solution with built-in, autonomous AR? See here > https://lnkd.in/gtAeKpXR #b2becommerce #b2bcommerce #b2bpayments #tradecredit

📉 Struggling with low approval rates on net terms? Relying only on credit bureau data means likely missing buyers who are actually creditworthy. 💡 By tapping into alternative data like bank transactions, you can approve more, reduce risk, and grow revenue with net terms and pay by invoice. Learn how > https://lnkd.in/gtAeKpXR Explore more tips > https://lnkd.in/gvB_evC8 #b2becommerce #b2bpayments #b2bcommerce

Evaluating digital trade credit solutions? 📋 Use this question-based checklist to evaluate every critical capability—from onboarding to risk management. 📥 Download the full checklist now > https://lnkd.in/gp3p6BTs #b2bpayments #b2becommerce #b2bcommerce

Offering net terms and invoicing used to mean taking on risk, chasing payments, and managing credit manually.   Modern risk infrastructure changes that.   🤖 By using AI and leveraging multiple data sources, you can make more accurate credit decisions. This reduces the risk of late payments or defaults and increases approval rates.   But smarter underwriting is just one part of the picture.   Balance also takes on the credit risk for approved buyers. That means you can offer net terms and invoicing without worrying about bad debt or delayed payments.   ⚙️ The process is fully automated, too. From onboarding to collections, Balance handles it end to end, with no AR complexity and overhead.   Learn more > https://lnkd.in/gtAeKpXR #b2bpayments #b2becommerce #b2bcommerce #invoicing #tradecredit