How suppliers can unlock value with commercial cards

Business-to-business (B2B) payment preferences are continuing to shift as more corporates move away from paper checks and adopt Automated Clearing House (ACH), commercial cards and other digital payment solutions. According to recent analysis by Datos Insights, global commercial credit card spend is expected to reach US$3.57 trillion in 2024 and US$5.07 trillion by 2028.¹

Historically, many businesses have avoided accepting commercial cards for B2B receivable payments because of the persistent belief that the cost of acceptance far outweighed the benefits. However, Forrester Consulting's recent findings from the U.S. market indicate that commercial cards card delivered a net positive economic impact for the participating suppliers.

The difference a few years can make

Visa first commissioned Forrester to conduct a Total Economic Impact (TEI) study in 2021, to examine the potential return on investment (ROI) businesses may realize from commercial card acceptance. Forrester surveyed approximately 160 U.S.-based companies with more than $1B in annual revenues and found that while there were certainly fees associated with accepting commercial card payments, commercial card acceptance was able to deliver a net positive economic impact of 357 basis points (bps) per transaction over alternative ways to pay for a typical* business.²

Since the economy was deep in the COVID-19 pandemic during the first TEI study, Visa asked Forrester to update the analysis in 2024. The result? The case for commercial card acceptance is even stronger today. According to the 2024 study, commercial cards delivered net benefits of 420 bps per transaction, over a 3-year period, for a composite organization representative of interviewed suppliers.³

Buying organizations are increasingly choosing to pay with commercial cards because they are easy to use, secure, offer opportunities to monetize their payments, help increase cash flow and improve working capital management. At the same time, companies accepting cards also reap important benefits.

Impacting the bottom line

One of the most compelling results of the Forrester study revealed that accepting commercial cards was an effective revenue generating tool for interviewed suppliers. The composite organization with a $10B turnover, representative of interviewed suppliers, achieved 24% revenue gains over a three-year period, thanks to card acceptance, by preventing potential business loss to competitors and unlocking additional opportunities from new and existing customers who make larger and more frequent purchases. Adopting commercial cards can have a positive impact on suppliers' bottom-line.