In times of uncertainty, firms can’t afford to have payments among the unknown quantities they’re facing down.
Yet in B2B, money has always moved slowly, sometimes painfully so. For decades, corporate procurement and supplier payments were governed by entrenched terms, often designed to tilt the advantage toward one party.
The buyer sought to conserve cash; the supplier sought to get paid as quickly as possible. Between them lay a battlefield of net-30, net-60 or even net-90 payment terms, late fees and financing workarounds.
Today, that battlefield is transforming into something more like a negotiation table. Under the combined weight of ongoing tariff-driven uncertainty, macroeconomic disruptions and cash flow volatility, B2B suppliers and buyers are taking a fresh look at the rules of engagement.
This renewed attention on accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) points to a new era of trust-building in B2B payments may be emerging, powered by technology, alternative financing tools and an openness to collaboration.
Read more: B2B Firms Are Betting on Time to Cash to Manage Uncertainty
Embracing Fairness as a B2B Payments Strategy
For much of the last half-century, corporate buyers dictated terms. Large retailers might stretch payments to suppliers for 90 or even 120 days to optimize their own working capital, leaving smaller vendors scrambling to finance operations.
But the pandemic, global shipping crises and ongoing U.S. tariff escalations have rewritten the script. The once-invisible payment friction became a strategic vulnerability. Delayed payments cascaded into disrupted supply, exposing buyers to inventory shortages and reputational damage. For suppliers, uncertainty about cash inflows made it harder to secure raw materials or invest in production capacity.
PYMNTS Intelligence in the June CAIO Report, “The Enterprise Reset: Tariffs, Uncertainty and the Limits of Operational Response,” found that 60% of firms reported that they are addressing today’s tariff-induced challenges through tighter partner coordination, smarter sourcing contract terms, more dynamic price modeling and greater alignment between finance and procurement functions.
At the same time, “The 2024-2025 Growth Corporates Working Capital Index,” a PYMNTS Intelligence report commissioned by Visa, found that the integration of suppliers—through digital means, as their billing systems are linked to the buyers’ payment operations—can improve cash flow for both parties, and by extension, create B2B ecosystems that are efficient.
Virtual card platforms are also being adapted for B2B trade. By issuing single-use cards with pre-approved amounts and automatic reconciliation, companies can guarantee payment upon delivery while maintaining tight spend controls.
On Wednesday (Aug. 13), Visa and B2B payment orchestration platform Bluechain, for example, partnered to enable digital transformation of B2B payments in the U.K.
See also: How Synthetic Data Is Becoming B2B CFOs’ Secret Weapon
Technology Is Being Integrated Into B2B Workflows
The trust-building era in B2B isn’t just a mindset change; it’s also being engineered into the payment process itself. Cloud-based procurement platforms now integrate payment scheduling, financing options and tariff tracking in real time. Both buyer and supplier can see where money is, when it will arrive and how external cost factors might change the plan.
This transparency is a departure from legacy systems, where payment status was opaque and disputes were resolved by phone or email chains.
Of course, the move toward mutual benefit doesn’t eliminate risk, and there’s also the challenge of ensuring digital tools integrate cleanly with enterprise resource planning systems and comply with local regulations.
According to “Virtual Mobility: How Mobile Virtual Cards Elevate B2B Payments,” done in collaboration with WEX, almost 73% of businesses have yet to automate supplier payments, significantly limiting their ability to gain a comprehensive view of money movement.
Still, the alternative of clinging to adversarial terms in a fragile supply chain may carry greater long-term risk. As tariffs, geopolitical shocks and environmental disruptions become more common, the ability to flex payment terms quickly could prove to be a competitive advantage.
“A one-size-fits-all framework can miss the actual risks in a relationship,” Boost Payment Solutions Chief Compliance Officer Elly Aiala told PYMNTS.
The B2B trust-building trend may only continue to accelerate as generative AI and predictive analytics enhance B2B payment platforms.
In this vision, payment terms cease to be static clauses and become living agreements that adapt in real time to economic signals. That adaptability could turn payment practices from a source of friction into a driver of resilience.