Check Use in the B2B World
Today, hardly anyone pulls out a checkbook to pay for purchases at the checkout counter. The B2C payment process involves credit card swipes and PIN entries. However, this is not the case in the B2B realm.
Even now, B2B payments are distributed and received via check. Check printing, though it may be a surprise, still occurs in everyday B2B transactions as the number one method of payment. In 2012, a whopping 6 billion B2B checks were issued, according to a Huffington Post source.
B2B check printing and issuance offers two main benefits:
in many cases, it is cheaper than deploying an electronic payment system platform
it eliminates the IT and customer reluctance to adopt a new payment process
Whereas consumer check use is experiencing a steady decline, recent B2B check printing and issuance research done by the AFP Electronic Payments Survey shows:
50% of enterprises receive B2B check payments
70% of surveyed businesses report struggling to shift toward digital payment methods due to reluctance
93% receive checks from their major business partners.
According to these numbers, it appears that B2B check printing via blank check stock will continue to push on as a payment method that offers both economical production costs and physical proof of payment to a large portion of B2B clients and suppliers.