Technology has come a long way in recent years and has improved the way we live, work and play. One area which has significantly benefited from new technology is the world of business. It’s become more popular for B2B (business-to-business) payments to be made through online platforms, often through wire transfers.
However, this new way of making payments isn’t without its drawbacks. The exchanging of bank details and processing of payments can take up valuable time from admin teams which could be better spent on other tasks. There’s also the risk that the details of the business you’re paying or even your own details could be intercepted by a cybercriminal. Now that you understand the risks associated with B2B payments, let’s explore how you can make your B2B payments more secure.
Organized bookkeeping
It’s essential to keep accurate financial records of all payments you make as well as the income your business brings in to ensure you pay any invoices by the due date. Keeping track of what you owe and pay will also prevent mistakes like paying the same invoice twice.
Keeping your accounts in order will make it easier to make financial plans for your company, as you’ll be aware of exactly how much income you have, how much you spend, and what you spend money on. This can be especially useful if you need to take on more staff as you’ll need to know how many people you can afford to hire.
Secure systems
Businesses trust that when they make an online payment their information is carefully guarded and failing to ensure this could break the trust between your company and theirs, which may discourage them from working with you again.
If your business accepts online payments, you’ll need to ensure the systems you use to process these are secure and protect both your business’ data and that of third parties from cyber criminals. Open banking solutions can be a great alternative to a traditional bank transfer and are specifically designed to protect your data throughout the process.
Stick to a “need-to-know” rule
Advancements in technology are making it easier than ever for hackers to steal data from people online. To reduce the risk of this, it’s recommended you stick to a “need-to-know” basis when it comes to sharing sensitive data.
For example, your accountancy team will need access to your suppliers’ credit card details, but it’s likely your marketing team won’t. By reducing the number of people who have access to the information and store it on their computers, you’ll lower the risk of the data falling into the wrong hands if an employee’s computer is hacked.
