B2B Payments: What Are They + How To Get Started

As a business that accepts payments from other companies, a big part of safely exchanging money is providing your customers with a stable, efficient, and secure method of paying you.

As a result, understanding everything there is to know about business-to-business (B2B) payments is key. In this post, we’ll cover:

• What are B2B payments?
• B2B Payment Processing
• B2B Payment Methods
• How to Do B2B Payments
• B2B Payment Providers

What are B2B payments?

B2B payments is the payment process between a business that has purchased a product or service and one that has provided the product or service. Common examples of B2B payments are purchasing inventory, services rendered, or even rent.

Unlike B2C payments, which tend to be smaller and for items like retail products, B2B payments are large and can be recurring.

Tomake a B2B payment, sellers typically send itemized invoices and wait to receive payment from the buyer. There are multiple ways selling businesses can accept payments, and we’ll discuss them below.

B2B Payment Methods

There are a few ways buyers can make B2B payments, each with its advantages and disadvantages.

1. Wire Transfer

A wire transfer is a bank-to-bank transaction, and it is one of the most common methods for making B2B payments.

The main draw to wire transfers is that they are fast, secure, and can happen over the phone by speaking directly to a bank or through an online banking profile. A downside is that the process can include a fee for both parties that varies by bank and type of transfer.

2. ACH Transaction

An ACH (automated clearing house) transaction is an electronic transfer between two banks, credit unions, or other financial institutions. A benefit is that it is usually free or low cost, but it can take a few days to process, which is not ideal for time-sensitive transactions.

3. Card Payments

Card payments (credit or debit cards) are a quick and easy way for businesses to make B2B payments, and they also offer the opportunity to earn rewards points or cash back on transactions.

While debit cards don’t typically come with fees, credit cards can be expensive if you pay interest on your balance. You also need to pay back your credit card balance, so there’s an additional transaction to pay off the balance you’ve paid to another business.

4. Check

Checks are a traditional payment method provided by a bank. With a B2B payment, the buyer would write a check to the selling business to deposit at its financial institution.

Checks are an extremely secure payment method as they are authenticated and provided by a bank or financial institution, but they take longer to process as you need to physically receive a check.

5. Payment Gateway

Payment gateways are online money transfer tools that bridge the gap between your business’ financial institution and the buyers' financial institution during a transaction. PayPal is a commonly used payment gateway.

How to Do B2B Payments

The first step to B2B payments is to ensure you have a bank account or financial institution for your business that you can link to all transactions.

The second step is to choose a payment solution that meets your needs. For example, you can opt for a more traditional payment method like only accepting checks from buying businesses.

Nowadays, B2B payment processing is often done online through payment gateways.

B2B Payment Processing

B2B payment processing happens through a company that facilitates B2B payments. These companies automate the process and handle most of the work, like logistics between banks, making the process simple for B2B transactions.

Below we’ll go over some of the most popular B2B payment providers and how they can help your business.

B2B Payment Providers

1. HubSpot Payments

Price: Credit and debit cards 2.9% of the transaction amount, .5% of ACH transactions, capped at $10

Payment types: Card payments (credit and debit), bank transfers (wire and ACH)

Security: PCI compliant, you won’t need to verify your business.

Key Features:

• CRM payment solution powered by HubSpot CRM, so you can instantly connect your customers’ purchase history with your records for reporting.
• Accept payments instantly with payment links that you can place in invoices or share directly with customers on your website, landing page, or email forms.
• Automated workflows streamline the payment collection process and make it easy to get paid on time.
• Set up recurring and one-time payments.

2. Square

Price: Varies by type of payment and yearly revenue

Payment types: Checks, bank transfers (wire and ACH), card payments (credit and debit), international transfers

Security: PCI compliant, you won’t need to verify your business.

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What we like:

• Create and send digital invoices to customers and allow them to choose their preferred payment method.
• Set up single or recurring payments and use progress tracking to ensure you’re paid on time.
• You can create an online payment page for your business or integrate Stripe with your existing website.
• Instantly access funds from your sales for a small fee.

3. PayPal for B2B

Price: Fees vary by payment type and currency

Payment types: Bank transfers (wire and ACH), card payments (credit and debit), international transfers, Pay with PayPal

Security: PCI compliant, you won’t need to verify your business.

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What we like:

• Send free, customizable invoices to customers or enable online payments on your site.
• Set up subscription or recurring payment options to skip the monthly invoice process and ensure you get your money on time.
• Build relationships with international customers because PayPal accepts 10+ local payment methods in over 100 currencies.

4. Chargebee

Price:Varies by business size

Payment types: Card payments (credit and debit), PayPal, Amazon Payments, bank transfers (wire and ACH)

Security: PCI DSS Compliant, you won’t need to verify your business.

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What we like:

• The automated invoice process helps you create and send payment notifications to buyers to ensure you receive payments on time.
• Recurring billing workflows help you set up a subscription payment model.
• The invoice tab lists all invoices generated and helps you keep track of payment progress.
• Choose from 23 payment gateways and 100+ currencies for domestic and international business transactions.
• Chargebee integrates with HubSpot.

5. Stripe

Price: 2.9% and $0.30 per successful card charge, .8% ACH for bank debits and transfers

Payment types: Wire transfer, paper check, ACH payments, card payments, international money transfers

Security: PCI DSS Level 1, so you don’t have to verify your business.

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What we like:

• Stripe Invoicing helps you create and send hosted invoices that are configurable to any payment type.
• Set up billing for one-time payments or on a recurring basis.
• Design a payments form on your website with Stripe Elements.
• Supports over 135 currencies and payment methods for transactions with global customers.

Over to You

Creating a B2B payment process for your business is essential because it ensures you’re paid for the products and services you offer and that transactions are done safely and securely, protecting you and your customers.