2026 Predictions: Using B2B Payments as a Strategic Lever for Growth

1 01:00:00,000 - > 01:00:12,666 Speaker: (Music) Thanks everyone for joining us today. 2 01:00:13,666 - > 01:00:20,375 SoI'm Clint Sears and we recently put together our 2026 predictions for B2B 3 01:00:20,375 - > 01:00:24,958 payments and we had experts inside and outside of TreviPay give their best 4 01:00:24,958 - > 01:00:30,083 efforts to try and figure out what's coming in the near future in 2026, and we 5 01:00:30,083 - > 01:00:34,625 thought it would be great to bring two of our biggest experts in the house with us 6 01:00:34,625 - > 01:00:40,166 today to break down a little bit about what we learned and just expand more on 7 01:00:40,166 - > 01:00:41,375 their own thoughts on the subject. 8 01:00:41,375 - > 01:00:44,875 I'll have our guests introduce themselves. 9 01:00:44,875 - > 01:00:45,958 Sure, Clint. 10 01:00:45,958 - > 01:00:47,125 Thank you for having me. 11 01:00:47,125 - > 01:00:48,625 So my name is Inez Berkhof. 12 01:00:48,625 - > 01:00:50,875 I head up TreviPay in the MAIA. 13 01:00:51,125 - > 01:00:55,375 That basically means that I'm responsible for all our clients in the MAIA region 14 01:00:55,666 - > 01:00:57,791 and help them grow their business. 15 01:00:57,791 - > 01:00:58,333 Awesome. 16 01:00:58,333 - > 01:00:59,000 Yeah, Martha. 17 01:00:59,000 - > 01:01:00,375 Hi, Clint and Ines. 18 01:01:00,375 - > 01:01:02,375 I'm Martha Salinas. 19 01:01:02,375 - > 01:01:07,416 I am the Chief Commercial Officer at TreviPay, and my team and I are 20 01:01:07,416 - > 01:01:10,791 responsible for all of our clients around the world. 21 01:01:11,125 - > 01:01:13,500 It's great to be here with both of you. 22 01:01:13,500 - > 01:01:13,958 Awesome. 23 01:01:13,958 - > 01:01:14,833 Yeah. 24 01:01:15,208 - > 01:01:19,750 So we'll dig in further and get into the details, but I think it'd just be easy to 25 01:01:19,750 - > 01:01:21,333 go over top level stuff. 26 01:01:21,625 - > 01:01:26,416 So basically, the big question, what trends do you guys foresee in B2B 27 01:01:26,416 - > 01:01:29,375 invoicing and payments by 2026 for yourself? 28 01:01:29,375 - > 01:01:33,375 We're trying to be polite with each other. 29 01:01:33,375 - > 01:01:34,708 No, I'm not. 30 01:01:34,708 - > 01:01:35,166 I'm not. 31 01:01:35,166 - > 01:01:36,958 Martha, he knows. 32 01:01:37,500 - > 01:01:41,875 So yeah, Martha, do you want to jump in and feel free to talk over each other and 33 01:01:41,875 - > 01:01:44,291 scream at each other, and we'll work it out. 34 01:01:45,000 - > 01:01:47,000 Well, I don't know if we're going to scream at each other. 35 01:01:47,000 - > 01:01:50,750 I like each other, so let's try to be nice about it. 36 01:01:51,166 - > 01:01:56,750 Yeah, I am very excited about 2026, because I see several things coming that 37 01:01:56,750 - > 01:02:01,333 I am excited about that I think are going to make, 38 01:02:01,333 - > 01:02:04,041 especially the relationship with our clients, even more powerful. 39 01:02:04,375 - > 01:02:08,125 I don't know how you feel about this in us, but very excited about it. 40 01:02:08,375 - > 01:02:16,333 I think I see three pillars of things that are beginning to happen in 2025 and 41 01:02:16,333 - > 01:02:22,458 that have been kind of like percolating the last few years and that are going to 42 01:02:22,458 - > 01:02:24,958 be even more important in 2026. 43 01:02:25,791 - > 01:02:32,916 So one is in the finance becoming more part of the infrastructure. 44 01:02:33,541 - > 01:02:35,500 And let me tell you what I mean by that. 45 01:02:36,166 - > 01:02:41,500 I think that throughout the years, the last couple of years, payments were an 46 01:02:41,500 - > 01:02:46,500 important function of what the finance teams were doing and even 47 01:02:46,500 - > 01:02:48,125 what the sales teams were doing. 48 01:02:48,583 - > 01:02:52,708 But it was kind of an additional feature, if that makes sense. 49 01:02:52,750 - > 01:02:57,750 It was just one more module in what embedded finance met. 50 01:02:58,458 - > 01:03:05,375 And I think that payments are becoming more and more a foundational layer of 51 01:03:05,375 - > 01:03:07,791 everything that happens in finance. 52 01:03:07,791 - > 01:03:12,708 So reconciliation, terms, just everything 53 01:03:12,708 - > 01:03:14,208 that has to do with payments. 54 01:03:14,208 - > 01:03:22,000 And it's basically to create a frictionless experience, not only for the 55 01:03:22,000 - > 01:03:26,750 finance team, but also for the buyers and the people they're serving. 56 01:03:27,791 - > 01:03:33,416 And I'm very excited about that because it's not only what happens with the 57 01:03:33,416 - > 01:03:37,416 finance team, but it's also what happens even at the point of sale. 58 01:03:37,708 - > 01:03:44,250 And I think that even the point of sale was seen as kind of separate from the 59 01:03:44,250 - > 01:03:48,500 order to cash process very much, I think, in 2026. 60 01:03:49,125 - > 01:03:55,833 It's going to become the only channel solution of embedded payments. 61 01:03:56,708 - > 01:04:01,958 And then, unfortunately, I also think that fraud is going to be a big topic, 62 01:04:01,958 - > 01:04:04,333 especially tied to AI. 63 01:04:05,166 - > 01:04:10,041 And yeah, all of this means that payments become a strategic lever, 64 01:04:10,041 - > 01:04:18,291 not only for efficiency, but also for growth as we think about how 65 01:04:18,291 - > 01:04:20,291 to take care of the buyer. 66 01:04:21,125 - > 01:04:25,375 And I'll stop there because I know Ines is going to have many more 67 01:04:25,375 - > 01:04:27,166 intelligent things to say. 68 01:04:27,166 - > 01:04:30,583 No, no, I can only build on what you just said, Martha. 69 01:04:31,166 - > 01:04:36,541 And the way I think about it is let me back up a step for a second because 70 01:04:36,541 - > 01:04:42,500 payments, to your point, used to be a separate feature from my perspective, 71 01:04:42,500 - > 01:04:43,666 from a European perspective. 72 01:04:44,375 - > 01:04:46,000 Payments is related to invoicing. 73 01:04:46,916 - > 01:04:52,333 And that is probably fueled by regulatory things that are happening in Europe. 74 01:04:53,125 - > 01:04:58,708 But what's more, I think there's today more emphasis and awareness by both 75 01:04:58,708 - > 01:05:05,500 commercial teams and finance teams that having a robust invoicing and payments 76 01:05:05,833 - > 01:05:10,416 strategy, let's say, gives you the opportunity to distinguish yourselves. 77 01:05:10,416 - > 01:05:14,208 It gives you the competitive edge in the marketplace. 78 01:05:14,666 - > 01:05:20,333 Because if you figure it out well, then your buyers will probably come more 79 01:05:20,333 - > 01:05:26,000 natural to you, will start to come back and spend over and over again, because 80 01:05:26,000 - > 01:05:27,000 you make their lives easy. 81 01:05:28,041 - > 01:05:30,541 So that's what I'm sensing in Europe. 82 01:05:30,541 - > 01:05:34,166 There's a lot of emphasis on regulatory stuff. 83 01:05:34,166 - > 01:05:39,791 But it combines the invoicing and the payments together. 84 01:05:40,583 - > 01:05:46,083 And it's all about how can we figure it out such that the buyer benefits 85 01:05:46,083 - > 01:05:50,958 basically from the pain going that regulation brings. 86 01:05:51,666 - > 01:05:56,458 But in the end, as a B2B seller, if you do figure it out and you have that 87 01:05:56,458 - > 01:06:01,750 competitive edge, obviously, you have your front row in the competitive game, 88 01:06:01,750 - > 01:06:02,500 let's say, in the marketplace. 89 01:06:02,500 - > 01:06:04,375 So that's what I'm seeing. 90 01:06:04,375 - > 01:06:06,833 There's a lot of buzz around compliance. 91 01:06:07,041 - > 01:06:11,041 And how can we make it a competitive advantage to figure that out? 92 01:06:11,041 - > 01:06:11,708 Perfect. 93 01:06:11,708 - > 01:06:15,000 And so, yeah, that kind of keys up a follow-up for me. 94 01:06:15,000 - > 01:06:19,291 As we take care of our buyers, and we're seeing this as a strategic lever for 95 01:06:19,291 - > 01:06:23,791 efficiency and growth, how do we take care of the global enterprise companies? 96 01:06:24,083 - > 01:06:27,083 And how can a company like TrieriPay really handle that as 97 01:06:27,083 - > 01:06:28,541 compliance becomes a bigger issue? 98 01:06:28,541 - > 01:06:30,666 A very good question, Clint. 99 01:06:30,666 - > 01:06:36,250 I guess even more so for large enterprise sellers and buyers. 100 01:06:36,958 - > 01:06:41,500 This is front and center in their strategy and in their minds, because, 101 01:06:41,500 - > 01:06:44,583 obviously, regulation has an impact. 102 01:06:45,000 - > 01:06:50,125 And the bigger you are as a company, the more impact it has, and the more robust 103 01:06:50,125 - > 01:06:51,583 you have to think about strategy. 104 01:06:52,375 - > 01:06:57,416 And that goes not only for the seller, but also for the buyer, because you 105 01:06:57,416 - > 01:06:59,625 probably receive more invoices. 106 01:06:59,625 - > 01:07:02,791 You have to make more payments and stuff like that. 107 01:07:03,375 - > 01:07:07,500 So I think the impact, predominantly, on enterprise sellers and 108 01:07:07,500 - > 01:07:11,041 buyers is the - how do I say that? 109 01:07:11,041 - > 01:07:17,583 The way companies are thinking about, OK, how can I make my life easy from an 110 01:07:17,583 - > 01:07:18,541 invoicing perspective? 111 01:07:18,541 - > 01:07:22,083 How can I do it such that it's standardized on the 112 01:07:22,083 - > 01:07:24,333 seller side, but not too rigid? 113 01:07:24,666 - > 01:07:30,500 Because if I've got an enterprise buyer who likes or needs customization, again, 114 01:07:30,500 - > 01:07:32,083 I want to have a competitive edge. 115 01:07:32,833 - > 01:07:38,416 I want to be able to adjust, let's say, my invoicing process in a way that the 116 01:07:38,416 - > 01:07:43,875 buyer actually can handle and brush that invoice in a smooth way, doing all the 117 01:07:43,875 - > 01:07:48,000 checks and balances that large enterprise buyers typically do, offering the 118 01:07:48,000 - > 01:07:52,416 opportunity to simply manage disputes and stuff like that. 119 01:07:52,625 - > 01:07:56,875 So I think at the enterprise level, there's even more pain. 120 01:07:57,208 - > 01:08:00,666 I don't know if pain is the right word here, but definitely consideration about 121 01:08:00,666 - > 01:08:02,333 how to do this right. 122 01:08:03,125 - > 01:08:07,791 Because, yeah, like I said, if the strategy is done well, then the impact 123 01:08:07,791 - > 01:08:10,916 will be big, both for the enterprise center as well as for 124 01:08:10,916 - > 01:08:11,916 the enterprise buyer. 125 01:08:11,916 - > 01:08:14,250 There's a lot at stake, in my opinion. 126 01:08:14,916 - > 01:08:20,125 Yeah, Ines, if I can add to what you're saying, but it's also very much about 127 01:08:20,125 - > 01:08:22,082 customer segmentation. 128 01:08:22,875 - > 01:08:28,791 I think that that's something that offered, I think, especially sellers 129 01:08:28,791 - > 01:08:30,666 forget a little bit. 130 01:08:30,666 - > 01:08:36,875 I don't want to say forget that it's - people don't realize the importance of 131 01:08:36,875 - > 01:08:38,332 customer segmentation. 132 01:08:38,332 - > 01:08:42,582 Because when it comes to payments, one size doesn't fit all. 133 01:08:43,041 - > 01:08:47,207 And absolutely, it doesn't matter how efficient and great your processes are. 134 01:08:47,666 - > 01:08:52,082 If you don't think a little deeper about customer segmentation, you're not going 135 01:08:52,082 - > 01:08:55,791 to be able to take care of the needs of your customers. 136 01:08:55,791 - > 01:08:57,207 And I'll give you an example. 137 01:08:57,457 - > 01:09:02,750 When you talk about an SMB, I mean, what they want is fast install approval, 138 01:09:02,750 - > 01:09:06,457 just like zero touch. 139 01:09:06,457 - > 01:09:10,457 The ECS is the most efficient. 140 01:09:10,457 - > 01:09:15,791 But when it comes to the large global enterprise buyers that you're asking 141 01:09:15,791 - > 01:09:20,625 about, Clint, they have very complex processes. 142 01:09:21,125 - > 01:09:23,250 And it's because they need controls. 143 01:09:23,750 - > 01:09:29,125 They need capabilities that SMB customer is not going to meet. 144 01:09:30,582 - > 01:09:35,875 And then even them, because they have developed those processes, the enterprise 145 01:09:35,875 - > 01:09:39,000 global buyers, they're all a little different. 146 01:09:39,000 - > 01:09:43,125 So even within that, the processes are a little different. 147 01:09:43,125 - > 01:09:46,791 So to a necessity point, you need to make sure that your processes 148 01:09:46,791 - > 01:09:54,457 are flexible and smart enough and can be configured well enough to be 149 01:09:54,457 - > 01:10:03,166 able to take care of the buyers that need PIO processes or that need purchasing 150 01:10:03,166 - > 01:10:08,166 controls and are not able to buy certain products with certain card. 151 01:10:08,750 - > 01:10:17,250 And all of this complexity that if you have a super efficient process that it's 152 01:10:17,250 - > 01:10:20,666 treating all your buyers the same, then you're not going to be able 153 01:10:20,666 - > 01:10:22,666 to take care of anybody well. 154 01:10:22,666 - > 01:10:23,207 Absolutely. 155 01:10:23,207 - > 01:10:23,666 Yeah. 156 01:10:23,666 - > 01:10:29,541 There's so many variables that it's sometimes surprising that people would 157 01:10:29,541 - > 01:10:31,500 take care of this themselves to me. 158 01:10:32,041 - > 01:10:36,291 And so not to toot around horns, but why not go to the expert second scales large 159 01:10:36,291 - > 01:10:39,457 as you need and as small as you need to handle all these different variables. 160 01:10:40,207 - > 01:10:46,541 Speaking of scale, it wouldn't be 2,026 predictions without talking about the 161 01:10:46,541 - > 01:10:49,291 thing that we just can't stop talking about even if we want 162 01:10:49,291 - > 01:10:50,332 to and we're tired of it. 163 01:10:50,582 - > 01:10:55,916 But I think there are interesting angles here when we bring up AI into this 164 01:10:55,916 - > 01:10:59,041 experience and how AI can help us scale and things like that. 165 01:10:59,582 - > 01:11:03,250 Martha, you already started, so I'm going to kick it to you after this. 166 01:11:03,250 - > 01:11:08,500 But you already started talking about, I think everything we're seeing, I've 167 01:11:08,500 - > 01:11:10,000 certainly looked into this myself. 168 01:11:10,000 - > 01:11:13,666 And it can be kind of scary at times, but I know that the right 169 01:11:13,666 - > 01:11:14,750 people are in front of it. 170 01:11:14,750 - > 01:11:16,582 But AI can be used for fraud. 171 01:11:16,582 - > 01:11:19,000 And we think that it's going to down the road. 172 01:11:19,000 - > 01:11:24,207 But what are some of the other ways that we can see AI starting to shape the world 173 01:11:24,207 - > 01:11:29,000 of payments as far as credit risk and personalized payment experiences and that 174 01:11:29,000 - > 01:11:30,416 scale that we were talking about? 175 01:11:31,166 - > 01:11:33,916 And Martha, do you want to kick it off a little more about fraud too? 176 01:11:34,250 - > 01:11:39,250 Yeah, I mean, the truth is that frauds are using AI, right? 177 01:11:39,750 - > 01:11:43,041 And they're using it really well. 178 01:11:43,041 - > 01:11:46,291 So that means that companies need to keep up, right? 179 01:11:46,291 - > 01:11:49,957 The good guys need to make sure that we keep up. 180 01:11:49,957 - > 01:11:54,457 And really, the only way to keep up is by using AI ourselves. 181 01:11:54,750 - > 01:12:00,750 It's just not sustainable to think that the processes that we've had in the past 182 01:12:00,750 - > 01:12:09,791 before AI became as popular as it is today and as easy to use worked, right? 183 01:12:09,791 - > 01:12:13,207 So we just need to make sure that companies keep up with that. 184 01:12:13,207 - > 01:12:18,791 And really, it's like every day, they get more and more clever, right? 185 01:12:18,791 - > 01:12:23,541 Some of the issues we've had to deal with are just really fascinating about 186 01:12:23,541 - > 01:12:26,166 everything in personation, right? 187 01:12:26,166 - > 01:12:29,750 And just, I don't know, I can't go on and on. 188 01:12:30,082 - > 01:12:34,375 And the only way companies are going to be able to keep up is by using AI 189 01:12:34,375 - > 01:12:37,666 themselves to be able to handle that. 190 01:12:38,041 - > 01:12:44,666 But on the other hand, AI also has some positive kind of applications that I am 191 01:12:44,666 - > 01:12:47,707 very excited about, especially because I'm on the commercial side. 192 01:12:48,207 - > 01:12:55,707 And I feel like AI is - I don't feel - I think AI is incredibly powerful in terms 193 01:12:55,750 - > 01:13:02,082 of customization and in terms of really getting to know your customers and being 194 01:13:02,082 - > 01:13:05,082 able to take care of the needs of your customers. 195 01:13:05,416 - > 01:13:10,625 I mean, I was talking before about the kind of the different variables and the 196 01:13:10,625 - > 01:13:12,707 different needs of different customer segments. 197 01:13:12,957 - > 01:13:20,000 Well, AI is incredibly powerful tool to be able to take care of your customers 198 01:13:20,291 - > 01:13:27,041 and also offer solutions that are even more innovative, like dynamic pricing, 199 01:13:27,707 - > 01:13:33,332 dynamic terms, be able to use the infrastructure that you have already 200 01:13:33,332 - > 01:13:38,625 placed to be able to - for this particular transaction, you're going to 201 01:13:38,625 - > 01:13:41,000 allow these terms for this customer. 202 01:13:41,750 - > 01:13:45,541 Or for this particular transaction, you're going to be able to have 203 01:13:45,541 - > 01:13:51,541 purchasing controls that are a little tighter and more controlled than for this 204 01:13:51,541 - > 01:13:54,707 other transaction that is less important. 205 01:13:55,125 - > 01:14:02,041 So AI is a very, very powerful tool to not only create efficiencies, but also 206 01:14:02,041 - > 01:14:10,332 meet the customer where their needs are and then being able to use payments as 207 01:14:10,332 - > 01:14:14,957 strategic growth lever because of all that infrastructure and all that 208 01:14:14,957 - > 01:14:22,041 configuration that you can put throughout the order to cash process, including, 209 01:14:22,041 - > 01:14:23,582 again, the point of sale. 210 01:14:23,582 - > 01:14:26,416 So I'm very excited about AI. 211 01:14:27,000 - > 01:14:33,791 And to a certain degree, I think people are very scared about AI. I 212 01:14:33,791 - > 01:14:36,082 think we should be because it's so powerful, especially 213 01:14:36,082 - > 01:14:38,707 when bad people use it. 214 01:14:39,082 - > 01:14:43,541 But on the other hand, I think that to a certain degree, because it's replacing 215 01:14:43,541 - > 01:14:51,082 inefficient processes and obstacles that we had before, I have this hope that it's 216 01:14:51,082 - > 01:14:56,332 going to help us become a little more human, that I'm going to be able to spend 217 01:14:56,332 - > 01:15:01,500 a little bit more time, develop relationships, and thinking about having 218 01:15:01,500 - > 01:15:03,500 a more robust conversation. 219 01:15:03,500 - > 01:15:07,125 We see it, for example, with our customer service reps. 220 01:15:07,832 - > 01:15:12,916 In the past, it was more about, how many minutes do you stay on the telephone? 221 01:15:13,125 - > 01:15:20,000 And now, because AI is taking care of the basic issues, now our customer service 222 01:15:20,000 - > 01:15:24,875 reps can develop a deeper relationship with the buyers and the 223 01:15:24,875 - > 01:15:26,500 centers that are calling them. 224 01:15:26,500 - > 01:15:29,207 And I think that's the future, hopefully. 225 01:15:29,207 - > 01:15:30,957 I mean, it's more optimistic. 226 01:15:31,291 - > 01:15:35,457 It's more about being able to be more human because of the 227 01:15:35,457 - > 01:15:37,332 efficiencies that are being created. 228 01:15:37,791 - > 01:15:43,541 I agree with you, Martha, because I think the way we see AI, it might not be the 229 01:15:43,541 - > 01:15:45,207 same as any other company. 230 01:15:45,707 - > 01:15:52,832 I think we see AI as a supporting method, let's say, to augment our service and the 231 01:15:52,832 - > 01:15:59,332 personal touch that is now enriched and gives a different dimension, let's say, 232 01:15:59,332 - > 01:16:01,541 to the relationships, to your point, that we're building with the 233 01:16:01,541 - > 01:16:02,500 customers of our client. 234 01:16:02,500 - > 01:16:06,375 I think that's the power of AI in our world. 235 01:16:06,375 - > 01:16:11,250 But not only that, I mean, if you think about it, the AI 236 01:16:11,250 - > 01:16:13,291 obviously thrives on data. 237 01:16:13,625 - > 01:16:20,832 We sit on a ton of data of our clients, be it payment behavior or spend data. 238 01:16:21,500 - > 01:16:27,500 So we leverage AI, and I think this is really the future for AI, at least for a 239 01:16:27,500 - > 01:16:32,791 financial technology company such as ours, which is where do you use it to be 240 01:16:32,791 - > 01:16:36,000 smarter in your decision-making process, be it on the underwriting 241 01:16:36,000 - > 01:16:37,291 side and the fraud side. 242 01:16:37,750 - > 01:16:43,541 But not only that, leverage machine learning also to learn more about, let's 243 01:16:43,541 - > 01:16:45,791 say, the spend behavior of your buyers. 244 01:16:46,082 - > 01:16:51,000 And in fact, I mean, I'm bragging here a little bit, but our team, our product 245 01:16:51,000 - > 01:16:55,541 team has figured out a way to predict dormancy with customers. 246 01:16:56,125 - > 01:17:02,416 Isn't that cool that based on data that we have in our systems, we can now 247 01:17:02,416 - > 01:17:05,166 predict to a really high percentage. 248 01:17:05,166 - > 01:17:10,457 I think it's 88% or 89% likelihood that an account can go dormant 249 01:17:10,457 - > 01:17:12,166 based on the data that we have. 250 01:17:12,666 - > 01:17:16,791 That is beautiful information and very, very important information that we 251 01:17:16,791 - > 01:17:17,916 provide to our clients. 252 01:17:18,541 - > 01:17:23,541 And they can then obviously, from the commercial side, pick that up and address 253 01:17:23,541 - > 01:17:27,791 that in campaigns or in personal outreaches. 254 01:17:28,082 - > 01:17:31,625 There's so much that AI can do on the commercial side as well. 255 01:17:31,957 - > 01:17:36,291 So I'm super excited about what AI does for us and for our clients 256 01:17:36,291 - > 01:17:37,541 in the future, absolutely. 257 01:17:37,541 - > 01:17:39,000 I agree. 258 01:17:39,625 - > 01:17:44,500 And I think that what we're seeing, to your point, and that example of dormancy 259 01:17:44,500 - > 01:17:46,707 is almost magical, right? 260 01:17:46,707 - > 01:17:51,625 It's allowing us to be less reactive and more proactive. 261 01:17:51,625 - > 01:17:56,000 And it's very powerful. 262 01:17:56,875 - > 01:18:03,791 To Ines's point, the product that the service, that the product team created 263 01:18:03,791 - > 01:18:09,332 about dormancy, like in the past, we always had to do it after the fact. 264 01:18:09,332 - > 01:18:12,375 I thought this customer stop buying, what happened. 265 01:18:12,375 - > 01:18:18,166 But now it's like, through AI and data analytics, 266 01:18:18,166 - > 01:18:22,375 we can prevent it, if that makes sense, which is a powerful 267 01:18:22,375 - > 01:18:23,791 tool for our customers. 268 01:18:24,582 - > 01:18:28,875 And it's, again, turning payments into a strategic growth lever. 269 01:18:28,875 - > 01:18:30,500 So very powerful. 270 01:18:30,500 - > 01:18:33,207 And being less reactive and more proactive. 271 01:18:33,207 - > 01:18:35,582 And the same thing for the finance teams, right? 272 01:18:35,582 - > 01:18:40,957 It's being able to predict cash flow a little bit more or late 273 01:18:40,957 - > 01:18:42,582 payments a little bit more. 274 01:18:42,791 - > 01:18:47,541 What late payments mean in terms of a buyer that is having financial problems 275 01:18:47,541 - > 01:18:49,000 that we can get ahead of. 276 01:18:49,000 - > 01:18:52,125 So it's very powerful. 277 01:18:52,125 - > 01:18:52,750 Yes. 278 01:18:53,125 - > 01:18:54,875 And we're starting to breach this. 279 01:18:54,875 - > 01:18:58,707 But how about credit decisions and compliance in AI? I 280 01:18:58,707 - > 01:19:00,457 know you guys both have thoughts on that. 281 01:19:00,457 - > 01:19:01,000 Yeah. 282 01:19:01,332 - > 01:19:02,625 I mean, well, we've touched on it before. 283 01:19:02,957 - > 01:19:10,541 I think it's a no-brainer that AI has sort of another dimension to credit 284 01:19:10,541 - > 01:19:13,207 checks and compliance checks. 285 01:19:13,500 - > 01:19:17,375 I mean, we can't obviously reveal the secret sauce of traffic pay, right? 286 01:19:17,375 - > 01:19:23,166 But we are leveraging the data, machine learning, and AI a lot 287 01:19:23,166 - > 01:19:26,375 every day in how we manage. 288 01:19:26,750 - > 01:19:31,791 I think our credit team is leveraging 92 data points of a single 289 01:19:31,791 - > 01:19:33,041 account when we underwrite. 290 01:19:33,625 - > 01:19:35,500 That's impossible to do manually. 291 01:19:35,500 - > 01:19:37,582 That's impossible, right? 292 01:19:37,582 - > 01:19:44,041 So you can only do that if you make use of machine learning tools and AI. 293 01:19:44,541 - > 01:19:50,707 And it enriches the process because the most traditional way probably in a 294 01:19:50,707 - > 01:19:55,000 business environment, and especially if you think about offering terms or trade 295 01:19:55,000 - > 01:19:59,291 credit, if you go to a credit bureau and you use that 296 01:19:59,291 - > 01:20:01,000 information, it's quite static. 297 01:20:01,541 - > 01:20:06,707 But there's so much more that you can and should be leveraging and using when you 298 01:20:06,707 - > 01:20:09,957 think about credit checks and compliance checks. 299 01:20:10,332 - > 01:20:14,541 And it's not only for credit worthiness, but it's also for AML, right, KYC. 300 01:20:14,541 - > 01:20:19,041 So those checks are super important as well. 301 01:20:19,041 - > 01:20:24,166 You want to make sure that if you sell your product, that you sell it to the 302 01:20:24,166 - > 01:20:27,541 company that's, I don't know, for example, not in a sanctions country or 303 01:20:27,541 - > 01:20:30,666 doesn't have any subsidiaries in a sanctions country or whatever. 304 01:20:31,125 - > 01:20:35,832 That's a massive undertaking if you need to do those checks manually, right? 305 01:20:36,416 - > 01:20:41,041 And those are quite simple examples, but those are the ones 306 01:20:41,041 - > 01:20:43,250 that we leverage a lot. 307 01:20:43,875 - > 01:20:47,457 But then if you think about from a European perspective, compliance on the 308 01:20:47,457 - > 01:20:49,000 invoicing side as well, right? 309 01:20:49,000 - > 01:20:54,082 I mean, making sure that the invoice that you send out is compliant, right? 310 01:20:55,082 - > 01:20:58,207 For example, with regards to invoice mandate, but also tax 311 01:20:58,207 - > 01:20:59,957 compliance is important. 312 01:21:00,625 - > 01:21:03,416 And then on the buyer side, there's compliance as well, right? 313 01:21:03,582 - > 01:21:10,000 The receiving end of an invoice today in Europe also has its processes and doing 314 01:21:10,000 - > 01:21:13,707 those checks, whether it's not a fraudulent invoice, whether it has the 315 01:21:13,707 - > 01:21:18,791 proper PO on it, whether it has all the bells and whistles, let's say, for it to 316 01:21:18,791 - > 01:21:25,457 be a manageable invoice, that probably requires more technology 317 01:21:25,457 - > 01:21:27,000 rather than manual checks. 318 01:21:27,457 - > 01:21:31,457 So the more finesse and the more intelligence that you can add to that, 319 01:21:31,500 - > 01:21:35,750 the higher the likelihood that you have a correct invoice, which is good for the 320 01:21:35,750 - > 01:21:42,500 seller because if the seller knows or has a compliant invoice, the likelihood of 321 01:21:42,500 - > 01:21:45,166 that invoice getting paid on time is obviously increasing. 322 01:21:46,457 - > 01:21:51,082 And also on the buyer side, if the buyer knows that the invoice is compliant and 323 01:21:51,082 - > 01:21:55,291 there's no hiccups to be expected, then they can process it smoothly. 324 01:21:55,291 - > 01:21:59,082 Probably it lowers the number of disputes as well, right? 325 01:21:59,082 - > 01:22:01,832 Which is a better customer experience as well. 326 01:22:02,375 - > 01:22:06,916 So yeah, there's so much on the invoice compliance as well that has a risk, 327 01:22:07,500 - > 01:22:11,000 probably a mitigating effect, as well as a customer experience 328 01:22:11,000 - > 01:22:12,082 effect, in my opinion. 329 01:22:12,082 - > 01:22:13,000 Absolutely. 330 01:22:13,000 - > 01:22:15,166 And sorry, Martha, go ahead. 331 01:22:16,041 - > 01:22:23,000 Yeah, to add to what Ines is saying, what I also find fascinating is the power of 332 01:22:23,000 - > 01:22:27,457 the data that AI allows you to leverage, right? 333 01:22:27,457 - > 01:22:29,875 Like Ines is saying, 92 points, right? 334 01:22:30,457 - > 01:22:34,582 But how do you compile all the data, right, that you get 335 01:22:34,582 - > 01:22:36,666 externally and internally as well? 336 01:22:37,082 - > 01:22:40,000 And we're very lucky at TreviPay because we'll be doing this 337 01:22:40,000 - > 01:22:41,582 for more than 40 years. 338 01:22:41,791 - > 01:22:48,582 So we have all this amazing global data from the verticals in which we operate. 339 01:22:48,916 - > 01:22:53,000 And so AI has allowed us - and we started many, many years ago 340 01:22:53,000 - > 01:22:54,875 with machine learning. 341 01:22:54,957 - > 01:23:03,541 But now AI has allowed us to leverage all that data that we've been gathering for 342 01:23:03,541 - > 01:23:12,332 how many years, and then enhance it with all these other data sources globally to 343 01:23:12,332 - > 01:23:15,750 be able to make even better credit decisions and be able to make 344 01:23:15,750 - > 01:23:18,666 them faster to Ines support. 345 01:23:19,166 - > 01:23:29,207 So it's just so powerful, right, to be able to combine both to offer better 346 01:23:29,207 - > 01:23:31,082 services to our clients. 347 01:23:31,082 - > 01:23:32,500 Absolutely. 348 01:23:32,832 - > 01:23:37,166 And you guys have both teed us up great for the next question, which is, as Ines 349 01:23:37,166 - > 01:23:40,957 has clearly proven, Europe leads on compliance and invoicing mandates. 350 01:23:41,457 - > 01:23:45,416 And then, well, in North America, we focus on embedded finance. 351 01:23:45,707 - > 01:23:50,082 How do these regional priorities influence global strategies? 352 01:23:50,082 - > 01:23:54,916 Ines, you and I talk about this so much, right, Ines? 353 01:23:55,666 - > 01:24:00,166 I'm going to let you handle the first one because you are in Europe 354 01:24:00,166 - > 01:24:02,750 working with global companies. 355 01:24:02,750 - > 01:24:07,582 I would love for you to start Ines, and then I'll add on. 356 01:24:07,957 - > 01:24:10,166 It's one of my favorite topics, Ines. 357 01:24:10,166 - > 01:24:11,750 It is. 358 01:24:11,750 - > 01:24:15,957 And Glynth, I would say, the one does not exclude the other. 359 01:24:16,582 - > 01:24:21,291 I mean, in Europe, obviously, we do have to do with those regulatory things, and 360 01:24:21,291 - > 01:24:23,582 that is front and center for European companies. 361 01:24:23,582 - > 01:24:27,082 But if you think about American companies - and we do, in fact, have 362 01:24:27,082 - > 01:24:32,000 quite a few American clients that want to expand into Europe and have expanded 363 01:24:32,000 - > 01:24:36,250 successfully in Europe, but now need to start thinking about, oh, my gosh, that 364 01:24:36,250 - > 01:24:40,375 regulatory environment is a bit alien to them. 365 01:24:40,375 - > 01:24:42,500 And how do I deal with that? 366 01:24:42,500 - > 01:24:47,916 On one end, in Europe, it's front and center because we live with it every day. 367 01:24:48,375 - > 01:24:52,375 We're very familiar with it, and we're finding the right solutions for it. 368 01:24:52,375 - > 01:24:57,791 But if you're a global company and you're headquartered in the US, or even in the 369 01:24:57,791 - > 01:25:01,500 UK, for that matter, then you have to deal with the same thing. 370 01:25:01,500 - > 01:25:03,416 It's no different. 371 01:25:04,250 - > 01:25:11,082 And then I would say, I guess companies should think about this more from a 372 01:25:11,082 - > 01:25:14,582 platform technology perspective, because what you really want to 373 01:25:14,582 - > 01:25:17,166 do is do things at scale. 374 01:25:17,166 - > 01:25:20,750 And unfortunately, Europe is not one country. 375 01:25:21,082 - > 01:25:22,957 Europe is 27 different countries. 376 01:25:23,791 - > 01:25:30,832 So that potentially has 27 different ways of interpreting EU legislation, for 377 01:25:30,832 - > 01:25:36,332 example, because EU has directives, which is great, but it leaves a lot of freedom 378 01:25:36,332 - > 01:25:41,707 to the individual countries to implement those, which we, by the way, see on the 379 01:25:41,707 - > 01:25:44,041 invoice mandates side, for example. 380 01:25:44,791 - > 01:25:50,416 So there's regulation that's called VEDA, which basically says by 2030, there needs 381 01:25:50,416 - > 01:25:54,166 to be a more generic way of handling E-invoices. 382 01:25:54,500 - > 01:26:00,332 But until then, companies get the opportunity to fill that in as they wish. 383 01:26:01,207 - > 01:26:05,375 So OK, now you're a company in - doesn't really matter which country. 384 01:26:06,291 - > 01:26:11,250 You want to operate in one of those countries in Europe, and you have to deal 385 01:26:11,250 - > 01:26:12,332 with the regulation. 386 01:26:12,707 - > 01:26:13,750 And the regulation is different. 387 01:26:14,625 - > 01:26:16,916 So you deal with regulation in Germany. 388 01:26:16,916 - > 01:26:18,875 That's totally different than regulation in France. 389 01:26:19,916 - > 01:26:22,082 So now, think about the American company. 390 01:26:22,082 - > 01:26:25,375 They come overseas and want to do business in Europe. 391 01:26:25,375 - > 01:26:26,582 Same thing, right? 392 01:26:26,957 - > 01:26:32,291 If they decide we expand into Europe, that doesn't mean we do one trick. 393 01:26:32,957 - > 01:26:36,832 No, it basically means you have to do tricks for every country 394 01:26:36,832 - > 01:26:38,457 to be compliant, right? 395 01:26:38,916 - > 01:26:44,166 So yeah, the strategy, to come back to your question, Kline, should be, how do I 396 01:26:44,166 - > 01:26:50,582 find a solution that is scalable and that's easy to deploy in different 397 01:26:50,582 - > 01:26:53,500 countries so that you can pivot quickly? 398 01:26:53,500 - > 01:26:57,916 Because I think speed is also something that distinguishes companies, right? 399 01:26:57,916 - > 01:27:02,125 If you are able to figure it out quickly, you can move ahead and take advantage of 400 01:27:02,125 - > 01:27:04,041 the commercial opportunities, right? 401 01:27:04,625 - > 01:27:08,125 If you need more time to figure it out, probably your 402 01:27:08,125 - > 01:27:09,500 competitor will be ahead of you. 403 01:27:10,125 - > 01:27:13,250 So yeah, that strategy is important. 404 01:27:13,666 - > 01:27:19,207 And finding a solution that is scalable and can make you move and pivot quickly, 405 01:27:19,207 - > 01:27:20,666 I think is important. 406 01:27:20,666 - > 01:27:22,832 I don't know, Martha, go ahead. 407 01:27:23,457 - > 01:27:27,750 Yeah, and to Ines's point, it's not only regulatory compliance. 408 01:27:27,750 - > 01:27:32,000 I mean, there's so many little idiosyncrasies when you 409 01:27:32,000 - > 01:27:34,207 are a global company, right? 410 01:27:34,457 - > 01:27:40,000 I mean, it's currency conversions, languages, and even cultural issues. 411 01:27:40,207 - > 01:27:44,291 Like, for example, in France, right, most of the time, you cannot 412 01:27:44,291 - > 01:27:45,791 do 30-day terms, right? 413 01:27:45,791 - > 01:27:48,041 There needs to be 45-day terms at least. 414 01:27:49,125 - > 01:27:55,416 And so if you are a global company, the best you can do is leverage, you know, 415 01:27:55,582 - > 01:28:01,125 efficient global processes that can be implemented in any country, but at the 416 01:28:01,125 - > 01:28:08,166 same time, like handle the idiosyncrasies and the compliance and all the other 417 01:28:08,166 - > 01:28:10,666 things that are particular to each country. 418 01:28:11,041 - > 01:28:15,500 And if you come from the US perspective, sometimes that's a little difficult to 419 01:28:15,500 - > 01:28:18,500 understand because we are such a huge country, right? 420 01:28:18,707 - > 01:28:20,875 There's little idiosyncrasies, right? 421 01:28:20,875 - > 01:28:23,957 Like, California tends to be a little more complicated because there's more 422 01:28:23,957 - > 01:28:25,250 rules in California. 423 01:28:25,250 - > 01:28:31,041 But in general, it's just one massive country, right? 424 01:28:31,457 - > 01:28:35,750 But then when you go to, like, Latin America, when you go to Europe, or when 425 01:28:35,750 - > 01:28:39,582 you go to even Australia, it's completely different. 426 01:28:39,582 - > 01:28:43,291 And you need to make sure that you have the infrastructure, including bank 427 01:28:43,291 - > 01:28:47,166 accounts, including people that understand how to do business in those 428 01:28:47,166 - > 01:28:53,875 countries, while at the same time leveraging, you know, the great tools 429 01:28:53,875 - > 01:28:57,957 that have been implemented and that have been there for a long time. 430 01:28:57,957 - > 01:29:00,707 So it's a balance, right? 431 01:29:00,707 - > 01:29:06,166 And that's someone that you and I talk about constantly because to be able to 432 01:29:06,166 - > 01:29:11,457 grow and to really be effective, you need to make sure that you are adapting, not 433 01:29:11,457 - > 01:29:16,957 only to the regulatory environment, but also to the culture, the customs and all 434 01:29:16,957 - > 01:29:21,500 the other idiosyncrasies that if you don't, you're not going to be successful. 435 01:29:21,500 - > 01:29:23,375 Great. 436 01:29:23,666 - > 01:29:28,207 And I have no doubt that you guys will be able to answer it so easily. 437 01:29:29,291 - > 01:29:35,250 But you're advising a CFO today, what actions should they take to future-proof 438 01:29:35,250 - > 01:29:37,791 invoicing and payment process for the next three years? 439 01:29:38,582 - > 01:29:42,250 And I know we don't have crystal balls to know exactly what's going to happen, but 440 01:29:42,250 - > 01:29:46,082 what are the main things that we tell them to do? 441 01:29:46,082 - > 01:29:48,207 I think I can start in us. 442 01:29:48,207 - > 01:29:54,375 I think don't think of payments as a back office function. 443 01:29:54,375 - > 01:29:58,666 Think of payments as a strategic growth lever. 444 01:29:58,916 - > 01:30:04,791 Think about customer segmentation because that's where it becomes 445 01:30:04,791 - > 01:30:06,625 a strategic growth lever. 446 01:30:07,375 - > 01:30:13,916 And think about payments as kind of proactive function as well, more than a 447 01:30:13,916 - > 01:30:19,207 reactive one to be able to predict cash flows, 448 01:30:19,207 - > 01:30:25,500 late payments and all the other major topics that CFOs think about. 449 01:30:25,500 - > 01:30:28,500 I think that would be me. 450 01:30:28,500 - > 01:30:32,707 Think of payments as a strategic growth lever and not only as 451 01:30:32,707 - > 01:30:34,707 a back office function. 452 01:30:34,707 - > 01:30:35,250 Emes? 453 01:30:36,125 - > 01:30:38,666 Yeah, gosh, how can I top that one? 454 01:30:39,000 - > 01:30:45,500 I would say then with a little bit of a European lens, instead of being afraid or 455 01:30:45,500 - > 01:30:50,166 scared of regulation, because I can see if you're not from Europe that regulation 456 01:30:50,166 - > 01:30:54,875 can be a little scary, but instead of being scared about it, 457 01:30:54,875 - > 01:30:56,750 I would say embrace it. 458 01:30:57,832 - > 01:31:04,582 Find the right partner to educate on the opportunities and to mark this point, 459 01:31:05,166 - > 01:31:11,250 because if you understand the opportunity for growth, then it's probably easier to 460 01:31:11,250 - > 01:31:17,457 put a strategy together where basically you handle the risk that is there from a 461 01:31:17,457 - > 01:31:24,207 compliance perspective and obviously the adherence to those policies, but you link 462 01:31:24,207 - > 01:31:27,332 it to your strategic growth agenda basically. 463 01:31:27,791 - > 01:31:32,875 So I think it's an opportunity more than a risk if you embrace it. 464 01:31:33,125 - > 01:31:37,250 And if you really think about the opportunities that it will give you, if 465 01:31:37,250 - > 01:31:42,791 you are a first mover, if you are the trusted and compliant partner for your 466 01:31:42,791 - > 01:31:47,500 customers, I think if you can be that partner, you have a really, really 467 01:31:47,500 - > 01:31:50,416 prosperous future ahead of you as a CFO. 468 01:31:51,375 - > 01:31:53,041 It's hard to top that as a closer. 469 01:31:53,541 - > 01:31:58,707 So as we look forward to 2026 and all the changes that are coming in the future, we 470 01:31:58,707 - > 01:32:02,916 just see that business is shrinking on the global stage, but with that, we have 471 01:32:02,916 - > 01:32:07,166 lots more variables and you need that partner that can scale with you, that can 472 01:32:07,166 - > 01:32:09,125 handle compliance and that can do it with speed. 473 01:32:09,791 - > 01:32:13,625 And obviously it'd be great if you chose one that had 40 years of experience 474 01:32:13,625 - > 01:32:17,750 already doing this as we have all these new things like AI coming into the fold. 475 01:32:18,457 - > 01:32:23,041 And yeah, I really love the idea that, you know, instead of looking at all of 476 01:32:23,041 - > 01:32:26,416 these different things that are coming down the pike as things that you have to 477 01:32:26,416 - > 01:32:29,416 take care of, find a partner that can help you use it as a 478 01:32:29,416 - > 01:32:31,457 strategic lever for growth, right? 479 01:32:31,457 - > 01:32:34,582 B2B payments as a strategic lever for growth as you kept saying more. 480 01:32:34,582 - > 01:32:36,250 This is just amazing. 481 01:32:36,582 - > 01:32:39,916 And I think we'll give you the advantage over your competitors. 482 01:32:40,957 - > 01:32:46,500 So as we close out, I want to invite everyone to check out trevipay.com and 483 01:32:46,500 - > 01:32:48,916 you can see the full report that we've been talking about today. 484 01:32:48,916 - > 01:32:50,332 This has been a great chat. 485 01:32:50,332 - > 01:32:51,082 Thank you both. 486 01:32:51,082 - > 01:32:55,291 I know I'm excited for 2026 and especially after this 487 01:32:55,291 - > 01:32:56,707 conversation, even more excited. 488 01:32:57,082 - > 01:33:00,875 So TreviPay will be there all the way and helping these companies grow.