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Automating business payments – is it worth the effort?

Paying invoices and payroll shouldn’t be difficult, and yet, for many businesses managing these processes can be tedious, challenging, prone to human errors, and lead to delayed payments.  

With 82% of European businesses facing challenges in managing their working capital efficiently, prioritising effective payment management is imperative for operational success and financial stability. 

If your payment systems aren’t rock solid, how can your business be?  

At Modulr, we believe making and receiving payments should be effortless. 

For motivated businesses with ambitious goals, it's crucial to address payment challenges within your company, as it can significantly slow progress and hinder growth. 

In this article, explore whether automating payments is worth the effort, the origins of current payment challenges, and practical steps to make payments seamless today. 

The payment challenge. How did we get here? 

When exploring why traditional payment systems are flawed, it’s important to understand the difference between banks and payment service specialists. 

Traditional banks are full-service financial institutions offering a wide range of services, including deposit accounts, loans, mortgages, and investment services. They are regulated to ensure stability and consumer protection. While banks provide a broad array of financial services, their payment processing systems are less flexible and slower to adapt to new technologies compared to payment service specialists. By being the go-to financial institution for everyone’s needs, they have been unable to focus on innovating their payment solutions. 

Payment service specialists are licensed to issue electronic money and provide digital payment services, such as e-wallets and online transfers. They excel in providing efficient, secure digital payment solutions. Payment service specialists operate under a regulatory framework focusing on the security and integrity of digital transactions. Modulr are an Electronic Money Institution and our payments services are regulated by the FCA in the UK and De Nederlandsche Bank to ensure your money is safe. Focused on digital payments, payment specialists innovate fast and offer cutting-edge payment technologies that can be seamlessly integrated with your existing systems. 

Banks are your GPs in the financial world. You can go to them with just about anything and they will be able to help you on some level. Payment service specialists, on the other hand, are your specialist consultants, focused solely on their core area of expertise: making payments—and they excel at it. 

Can payment service specialists help you automate your business payments? 

Payment service specialists facilitate automated payment solutions.  

Automated payment solutions enable businesses to automatically process and manage payments without the need for manual intervention. Payment specialists can handle a variety of payment types, including recurring billing, one-time payments, and bulk payments.  

Automated payment solutions, such as Modulr integrate with accounting and payroll software, such as Sage, Xero, and Brightpay, allowing you to streamline financial operations. 

Four step automation

Why should your business use automated payment solutions? 

The benefits of automated payment solutions are clear: they save time, reduce errors, and improve cash flow.  

  • Efficiency. By reducing the time and effort needed to manage payments, your resources are freed to focus on core business activities. 
  • Accuracy. A decimal point in the wrong place can cause admin havoc. Automated payment solutions minimise the human errors that come with manual payment processing. 
  • Cash flow. Payments that may have taken days to be processed can be made in just 90 seconds, reducing risk of fines and late payments, and ensuring your cash position has real-time accuracy. 
  • Systems that can scale. While manually processing payments may be sustainable today, the more your business develops, the more your financial administration will grow. Handle increasing transaction volumes without an additional admin burden. 
  • Colleague satisfaction. For finance professionals, the impact on automating payments is significant. With 57% reporting that work pressures negatively affect their mental health, simplifying processes can improve your colleagues’ wellbeing. 
How can you get started with automated payments solutions? 

The good news is you can get started with automated payments solutions very easily. Modulr are integrated in key accounting and payroll software for quick setup and immediate benefits.  

By connecting your existing systems to Modulr, you can automate the entire payment process, reducing manual effort and improving accuracy. 

Getting started is simple. Click here to get in touch with an automated payment expert. We will review your payment needs, walk you through the setup process, and implement your integrated payment solutions. 

So, are automated payment solutions worth it? 

Absolutely. Dedicating just a few hours to implementing an automated payment solution will pay dividends in the long run. Empower your finance colleagues to use their skills where it matters and not in manual data entry. 

With the integration capabilities and robust security features Modulr offers, your business can seamlessly transition to a more streamlined, productive, and secure payment system. 

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