Moving Money Is the Easy Part: Where B2B Payments Go Next
By Karthik Subramanian
AI summary of the source article
As settlement speeds become standardized across real-time rails and stablecoins, B2B payment differentiation is moving beyond transaction execution into broader financial workflows. McKinsey estimates cross-border payments reached $190 trillion in 2025, generating over $290 billion in revenue, yet manual processes around invoicing, approval, and reconciliation remain major bottlenecks. While Artemis data reveals B2B stablecoin payments reached an annualized $76 billion by August 2025, modern rails alone do not resolve workflow fragmentation. Providers are responding by embedding financial operations into unified infrastructure, exemplified by platforms like Performa Finance that offer self-service integration around businesses' existing assets.
Why it matters
Fast settlement alone cannot eliminate back-office delays, shifting corporate demand toward infrastructure that unifies invoicing, reconciliation, and treasury management.
Key facts
- McKinsey estimates $190 trillion crossed borders in 2025, generating over $290 billion in payments revenue.
- Artemis tracked $136 billion in stablecoin payments from January 2023 to August 2025, with B2B reaching an annualized $76 billion.
- B2B payments value is increasingly determined by workflow integration across invoicing, approvals, and reconciliation rather than execution speed alone.