We understand your pain points with automating and integrating your payment processes across your global operations. Axletree’s future-ready Payment Hub can help.
In this video, we explore the Payment Hub solution within our Enterprise Integration Platform, Symmetree by Axletree®.
For organizations to increase their business agility and respond flexibly to both internal and external forces, they must redesign their payment processes and enable the integration of varied payment systems, from Billing and Accounting to payroll and vendor management applications.
This is where a Payment Hub comes in.
What do we mean when we refer to a “Payment Hub”?
Put simply, a payment hub is a single-window payment platform through which companies can execute all their payments. Payment hubs increase fund control and visibility, reduce the risk associated with numerous fragmented payment processes, and improve overall operating efficiency.
By implementing a future-ready payment hub such as Axletree’s, companies would be implementing an ISO20022-compliant solution that enables the specification of rules for sending transactions at ideal times to minimize time- and destination-based costs, and one that is functional through multiple payment routes.
I’ve also heard the term “Payment Factory”?
Where a Payment Hub is a centralized location for executing pre-specified automated payments, a Payment Factory is for creating and executing payments. The term “Payment Factory” can be used to describe the combined procedure of automation and human intervention for enhanced payment processing.
While a Payment Factory can be a more exhaustive and intensive operation, a Payment Hub enables operational ease for most of an organization’s payment processes through a combination of pre-specified rules and artificial intelligence.
Why are Payment Hubs important to me and my organization?
The following are some of the challenges organizations face due to inadequate payment process designs or the addition of new, disjointed payment systems through acquisitions:
- Several, disparate payment processes and payment systems.
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, TMS (Treasury Management Systems) and in-house systems all generating different payment formats and connecting to banks in a multitude of ways.
- Various payment file formats that are further complicated by bank-specific requirements.
- Diverse connectivity methods/financial rails to send and receive messages associated with payment execution.
- Diminished visibility into the payment lifecycle (inflows & outflows) across the organization.
- Fragmented support for payment systems and processes, with each support team focusing on separate payment systems/processes.
- Legacy systems with dwindling support and one-off enhancements that have been appended over time.
- Frequent payment related issues – consisting of both technical bottlenecks and payments that hamper straight-through-processing.
- Lengthy payment system implementation and integration timelines.
A payment hub eliminates these challenges as a single platform that delivers uninterrupted straight-through-processing (STP) and enhanced control over payments through strict, automated workflows.
System and process integration forms the foundation of payment hubs, as they serve to bridge legacy systems, financial rails, and bank specific formatting requirements. With flexibility and ease of maintenance built into the design, payment hubs balance the accelerated onboarding and offboarding of banks without sacrificing execution speed, reliability, security, availability, maintenance, and payment controls.
Adopting a company-wide strategy to automate payment processing workflows, while incorporating the latest security standards and fraud controls, payment hubs are a critical step towards implementing a best-practice payment solution.
Organizations need a trusted partner that have a keen focus on business outcomes. The journey to change must begin with an understanding of the desired business outcomes, and the barriers and constraints in the way of change.
Over the course of this payment hub series, [HR1] [MM2] we will dive into specific use cases around how payment hubs drive operational efficiencies and enhance the end-user experience. If you find yourself at the crossroads of this change, reach out to Axletree!
To learn more about payments hubs, contact us at info@axletrees.com or give us a call at +1-732-296-0001.
Read the next article in our payment hub series: A Payment Hub Can Centralize Your Payment Processes