AI has transformed how many businesses operate, but one workflow has been painfully stuck in the past: payments.
For many finance teams, paying an invoice still often involves a surprising amount of manual work. Recurring invoices may go through the same reviews and approvals month after month, moving between systems and requiring multiple signatures. And at the end of it all, some payments are still issued by check and sent through the mail.
But why? The answer may be more complicated than you might think.
Why aren’t business payments often fully automated?
Manual processes may be inefficient, but they also can allow for a high degree of control that may be necessary for the payment process. Before money moves, business leaders usually want to know that the supplier is legitimate, the payment is authorized, and the person or system making it has permission to do so.
Why does automation rely on digital payments?
Automation isn’t usually as useful if a payment still requires a manual process, like sending out a physical check. Digital payments can make it simpler for an approved payment to become a completed transaction by reducing the manual step.
How can businesses know what payments can move to cards?
Before a business can automate supplier payments, they may consider which suppliers can accept digital payments and which payment methods they support. Financial institutions can help uncover these opportunities.
Tools like Visa’s SESA 2.0, or Supplier Enablement Spend Analytics, can be useful. These tools can combine Visa data, benchmarking, and predictive models to help financial institutions identify suppliers that are likely to accept commercial card payments. In fact, SESA has surfaced more than $600 billion in potential cardable spend since 2021.¹
How can business leaders help keep automated payments secure?
About four in five organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud in 2024, according to the Association for Financial Professionals. To help prevent payment fraud, safeguards can be put be in place from the start.
For example, Visa Commercial Fraud Solutions includes supplier validation, virtual authentication, and payment controls, tools which were designed to help businesses reduce risk and make more holistic decisions before money moves.
Can AI really complete a payment?
Yes. Visa, BILL, and Billtrust have launched a live pilot that enables AI agents to help complete approved buyer invoice payments through supplier portals, while suppliers can maintain control and oversight.
The pilot involves:
- A recognized and authenticated AI agent acting on behalf of an identified buyer
- Tokenized payment credentials rather than shared supplier-portal logins
- Payment controls tied to the customer’s approved payment instruction
- A purpose-built payment path tied to the specific invoice
- Visibility into the authorization and completion of the payment
What’s ahead in automated payments?
As businesses adopt more automation, they likely will want to set clear rules around who or what can act and what they’re allowed to do.
Some checks may be necessary, but they shouldn’t be the paper kind.
Disclaimers:
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- Visa Supplier Enablement Spend Analytics (SESA) tool; aggregated supplier opportunity identified by the tool from 2021–2026.