Tradeshift Launches Blockchain-Powered B2B Payments

Supply chain management company Tradeshift is heightening its presence in the B2B payments space through the launch of Tradeshift Pay and is introducing a blockchain-powered early payments service as part of the new offering.

A press release on Monday (May 21) said the company is rolling out its cloud-based supply chain payments, supply chain finance and early payments offering into an integrated solution. Tradeshift Pay aims to unlock working capital that gets stuck in accounts receivable as businesses delay payment to suppliers, the company explained; its end-to-end payments and finance tool lets buyers make payments via virtual cards and other payment rails.

Tradeshift Pay also supports buyers’ access to supply chain finance and payments via blockchain so they can take advantage of early payment discounts, which enable businesses to save money while suppliers are paid more quickly.

“In an industry where 50 percent of U.S. payments are check-based and companies around the world struggle to access finance and payments, Tradeshift Pay is a real enabler for the digitally connected economy,” said Tradeshift CEO and Co-Founder Christian Lanng in a statement. “For the first time, businesses can go to one single wallet to handle all their payments, end-to-end, across all channels. And for the first time, you can do both regular and blockchain-based early payments in one platform in the cloud.”

Its deployment of blockchain technology aims to broaden access to financial services for underbanked companies in the supply chain, the company said.

At present, more than 12 banks and card providers are participating in Tradeshift Pay’s offering, including Santander and HSBC, the firm noted.

Last year, Tradeshift partnered with Biz2Credit, a marketplace lender, to link businesses to trade financing solutions. Biz2Credit launched its app in the Tradeshift platform for buyers and suppliers to seek capital and finance their trade operations.