Glossary
The B2B payments glossary.
Plain-language definitions of the accounts payable and B2B payment terms that come up most.
- Accounts Payable Automation
- Software that reduces manual AP work such as invoice capture, coding, matching, and approvals. It often stops before payment delivery and supplier support.
- ACH (Automated Clearing House)
- A U.S. bank-to-bank electronic payment network used for direct deposits, vendor payments, and recurring business payments.
- AP Payments as a Service
- A fully managed model where a provider runs payment delivery, supplier enablement, support, exceptions, fraud controls, and reporting after the buyer approves payments.
- Bank Account Validation
- Checking supplier bank details before payment to reduce failed payments, misdirected funds, and account-change fraud.
- Buyer-Supplier Network
- The connected set of buyers and suppliers that exchange invoices, remittance data, payment preferences, and payment status.
- Card by Mail
- A virtual card delivery method where secure card details are mailed to suppliers that accept card but not digital delivery.
- Check Fraud
- Fraud involving paper checks, including stolen checks, altered payees, counterfeit checks, and intercepted mail.
- Days Payable Outstanding (DPO)
- The average number of days a company takes to pay suppliers after receiving goods or services.
- Fraud Prevention
- Controls that reduce the chance of unauthorized, misdirected, duplicated, or manipulated payments.
- Payment Monetization
- The practice of turning eligible supplier payments into measurable financial value through optimized card and electronic payment adoption.
- Payment Operations
- The people, process, systems, controls, and support work required to move approved payments from buyer to supplier.
- Payment Rails
- The methods used to move money, such as virtual card, ACH, accelerated ACH, check, wire, or real-time payment.
- Payment Reconciliation
- Matching payment activity against invoices, bank records, and accounting data so the books stay accurate.
- Straight-Through Processing (STP)
- Completing a payment process end to end without manual intervention, from instruction through settlement and reconciliation.
- Supplier Enablement
- The work of enrolling suppliers into preferred electronic payment methods and supporting them through payment setup and questions.
- Supplier Portal
- A digital place where suppliers can manage payment preferences, view status, and access payment support.
- Virtual Card
- A digital card number used for a specific supplier payment, often with controls for amount, merchant, timing, and remittance data.
- FinexioExpress
- Finexio's accelerated ACH option for suppliers that prefer bank deposit and want faster settlement than standard ACH.
See these concepts in action.
Finexio turns the hard parts of AP payments into one managed operation. See it on your own payment file.