By Lucia Sprungle, Managing Director – ChoicePay®, at Huntington Commercial Bank
Key takeaways
- Digital payments can offer a path to financial stability by reducing costs and addressing risks, including unclaimed property liabilities and fraud vulnerabilities.
- Moving away from checks does not mean sacrificing working capital strategies. Digital payments offer benefits that can replicate and improve upon check float and financial forecasting.
- Adopting digital payment platforms allows companies to respond quickly to changing market demands and external pressures.
- Capturing real-time insights is one of the most significant advantages of digital payment platforms to improve decision making and agility.
Digital payments have proven to be game-changing for how businesses manage cash flow and streamline operations, particularly in the B2C market. In this highly competitive space, the ability to act with speed and agility is a necessity. Organizations aligning their payment strategies with customer expectations can uncover substantial cost efficiencies and strengthen resilience, positioning themselves for sustainable growth.
The first article in this four-part series on digital payment transformation focused on the driving forces behind evolving consumer preferences. This second article of the series illustrates how these systems are revolutionizing business operations, delivering concrete benefits that extend beyond simple efficiency to help position companies for enduring success.
The Mandate for Financial Agility
Prioritizing agility has become the norm in the current economic and regulatory environment. Rising costs for goods, service, and labor have strained operational costs, and many companies are reevaluating financial strategies due to sticky inflation and policy uncertainty. Huntington Private Bank’s 2025 Beyond Business Survey of business owners revealed that inflation remains a key challenge, with 47% of large organizations citing the higher cost of doing business as their top concern over the next 12 months. While investing in new payment platforms might not be top-of-mind for these CEOs, it arguably should be.
Digital payments can offer a pathway to financial stability by:
- Streamlining payment cycles to reduce operational costs.
- Lowering costs associated with issuing checks – as much as $4 to $20 per check when factoring in labor, materials, and postage†.
- Preserving control over cash flow while increasing responsiveness.
- Addressing financial risks, such as unclaimed property liabilities, missed compliance deadlines, and fraud vulnerabilities.
Reducing the time and money spent on checks alone could support business’ efforts in achieving financial stability. But digital payments can play another role in the payables process that could spur companies to finally cut ties with checks.
Bridging Agility and Working Capital Management
Despite the sizable cost, companies continue to rely on checks to control cash flow and delay payables. Reluctance to abandon this method usually stems from concerns about liquidity management. However, digital payments can offer benefits that replicate and improve upon these functions:
- Digital payments mimic check float through scheduled payments.
- Companies can negotiate favorable payment terms while using digital methods to ensure on-time execution.
- Integration with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems allow companies to forecast and manage cash flows accurately.
Here are just a few examples of how different industries are wielding digital payments to improve operations without sacrificing working capital strategies:
Healthcare: Providers can accelerate patient refunds while maintaining cash flow controls and meeting strict regulatory requirements and addressing challenges presented around legislation like the No Surprises Act.
Higher Education: Institutions can disburse financial aid or emergency funds via virtual card or other digital method to students without tying up capital or risking uncashed checks for lower volumes.
Employers: Employers can offer digital gift cards to recognize employees for their accomplishments or as corporate gifts.
Class Action Settlements: Funds from class action settlements can be securely distributed to claimants in a matter of days, not months, no matter the size of the payout or number of class members.
These digital payment features eliminate the manual delays and check costs without disrupting financial strategies. Another benefit companies see here is increased customer satisfaction and improved payment acceptance rates. Consumers today expect digital payment options that include PayPal, Venmo, gift cards, direct deposit, and virtual cards. Savvy businesses are paying attention – 39% of surveyed businesses report their primary reason for using faster or instant payments is for the flexibility to pay as customers prefer‡.
Adapting to External Market Pressures
Keeping up with customer payment demands is just one of the factors impacting B2C agility and resiliency. The next few years could bring significant regulatory changes, rate volatility, and supply chain disruptions, all of which mean adapting quickly to external factors will likely be the hallmark of a successful business.
The introduction of the No Surprises Act in 2022 is one example of a regulatory change that required healthcare providers to adapt to new pressures. The “good faith estimate” requirement, or disclosure of the estimated final cost to the patient, led to an unexpected rise in credit balances and patient overpayments – a significant problem for an industry with inefficient reimbursement systems. Providers offering patients digital payment options could offer prompt refunds and avoid provider and patient frustrations.
Global reach is another factor to consider. It’s hard to name an industry without geographically disbursed customers. Investing in a digital payment platform that enables global payments can expand reach and customer satisfaction. Companies can use these platforms to disburse funds that can be redeemed anywhere in the world.
Setting up a process that is agile and responsive builds resiliency, allowing the focus to be not on scrambling to adapt, but on capitalizing on new opportunities.
Real-Time Data: The Visibility Advantage
One of the most significant benefits of digital payment platforms is the ability to access real-time insights. This visibility can transform financial management and the revenue cycle by supplying the data needed to make informed decisions quickly.
Businesses across industries rely on real-time reporting to:
- Spot and resolve discrepancies before they escalate.
- Optimize payment timing to align with cash flow needs.
- Allocate resources more effectively to support growth and innovation.
- Identify patterns that could lead to an increased digital redemption rate, lower abandonment rate, or new revenue avenues.
Automated payment systems also assist in reducing fraud and ensuring compliance with complex regulatory systems by creating audit trails, simplifying reporting, and tracking suspicious activity.
Getting Started with Digital Payments
Shifting away from checks is a monumental task, but the benefits of incorporating digital payments into your organization’s accounts payable process and revenue cycle can be worth the effort. Growing competitiveness in markets means meeting customer demands. Remaining agile is imperative and digital platforms empower organizations to accomplish it.
Businesses globally are adopting digital payment methods to meet the evolving needs of their customers and organization. Learn more about transitioning your payment processes to gain a competitive edge by contacting our ChoicePay team.
