What’s next for B2B payments? Listen to the CFO.

At a panel hosted by American Express’s R.J. Ancona, the conversation opened with a challenge: B2B payments are accelerating, but not everyone is keeping up.

Carey O’Connor Kolaja, CEO of Versapay, pointed to a dynamic many finance leaders recognize. Change is no longer linear. It’s asynchronous, cultural, and constant. For companies to keep up, she argued, the CFO must stop acting like a back-office function and start leading operational transformation.

The backdrop? Billions still locked up in manual invoice workflows, fragmented ERP systems, and dispute-prone reconciliation processes.

Dean Leavitt, Founder and CEO of Boost Payment Solutions, reframed the role of the transaction entirely.

In enterprise payments, it’s not just about moving funds. It’s about moving intelligence. The rise of virtual cards and embedded payments means data exchange especially from the CFO’s office is now as critical as the transfer of money itself.

“The payment has often been an afterthought,” he said. “But that’s changing. How you get paid, and how you pay, are becoming central to how companies run.”

Both Leavitt and Kolaja noted that finance leaders are increasingly expected to solve for liquidity, working capital, and customer trust in a single motion. And automation is the only way that scales.

Both companies shared how they’re building beyond the transaction.

Boost is focused on removing friction from virtual card acceptance automating everything from inbound card handling to ERP reconciliation. Without automation, Leavitt argued, enterprise suppliers are unlikely to accept card payments at scale.

Versapay, meanwhile, is solving for the full lifecycle of receivables issuing, chasing, reconciling and the data delays in between.

“The cheapest form of cash flow is getting paid for what you’ve already delivered,” Kolaja said. “It should be a catalyst, not a challenge.”

Invisible delays like a missed invoice or payment dispute still stall collections. Versapay aims to eliminate those gaps, starting with clean system-to-system reconciliation.

As B2B payment rails modernise, both speakers emphasised that relationships still define the experience.

Disputes, slow processing, and limited payment choices erode trust. According to Kolaja, 82% of businesses report losing customers when payment issues arise.

“Moving money is emotional,” she said. “People don’t think of it that way, but it is. If a dispute isn’t resolved or a payment feels delayed, trust breaks down.”

Automation, then, isn’t just about speed, it’s about consistency. It’s how trust scales.

Both panelists referenced a rising generational influence within finance teams. New decision-makers, who grew up with one-click checkout and real-time visibility, are entering the enterprise and rejecting manual workflows outright.

Kolaja recalled a recent customer panel where a younger AR lead simply said: “This shouldn’t be this hard.” The message was clear: if consumer payments are simple, B2B should at least be manageable.

Leavitt framed it as a form of consumerisation: younger leaders expect seamless processes. If a payments partner can’t deliver that, they’ll look elsewhere.

When asked what’s next, Kolaja was clear: the future isn’t about a single platform or standard. It’s about intelligent networks and deep vertical expertise.

“Business wallets, dynamic terms, agentic payments those are coming,” she said. “But the nuance lies in industry-specific complexity. You have to solve for that.”

Leavitt agreed, suggesting that B2B is too bespoke for uniformity. “There won’t be a ‘normal.’ There will be ecosystems that move at different speeds. And the partners who can adapt will win.”

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The Unofficially ETA Transact Team

Not affiliated with ETA Transact Events

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