Introducing Allianz Trade pay, a digital-first payment solution for B2B e-commerce

Customers want the best products, at the best prices, from the best suppliers. That’s one of the basic principles of business-to-consumer (B2C) trade – and it applies to business-to-business (B2B) commerce, too.

In recent years, B2B trade has gone digital. This means buyers no longer have to rely on local suppliers to secure those products at the right price; they’re turning to e-commerce. And this shift in the landscape presents a challenge: a mismatch between new purchasing habits and traditional payment methods. We are closing that gap with Allianz Trade pay.

E-commerce and digital payment solutions have flipped the tables in some way for both B2C and B2B customers. For your general consumer, in the past, there was really no alternative to upfront payment. But today, a range of buy now, pay later (BNPL) tools are bringing credit into that world.

However, in B2B trade, credit is the norm. Offline, sellers in this space have historically been able to grant their buyers defined payment terms while benefitting from protection from the risks of non-payment. For businesses selling online, on the other hand, that means making instant credit decisions on thousands of customers – that they often don’t know much about – to offer terms at the time of purchase. Without specialized solutions, that’s simply not possible.

With Allianz Trade pay, we aim to solve all of these problems. Today, Allianz Trade pay stands as a comprehensive range of services covering the entire B2B e-commerce value chain. It offers trade credit insurance protection, fraud mitigation, digital buyer onboarding and instant access to financing (leveraging on our partners), all in one product.

The first problem we’re solving with Allianz Trade pay is protection against non-payment risk – the core of traditional trade credit insurance products. We’ve found that for sellers, the risk of non-payment is their main concern. Through Allianz Trade pay, we own that risk, enabling e-merchants to confidently grant payment terms to their digital customers. This protection provides additional benefits, too. Research into retail habits has shown that deferred payment options can lead to both an increase in basket size and purchase frequency.

To do so, we had to work on a technology enabling instant credit decisions. Around two years ago, we established the tool as a set of application programming interfaces (API) that can rapidly identify if a business is legitimate and creditworthy. Allianz Trade pay is therefore providing companies with fraud mitigation and non-payment risk prevention for each transaction, in a few seconds.

We also have established relationships with innovative BNPL players that have strong domestic expertise. Thanks to them, companies with domestic business activities can use Allianz Trade pay to foster their e-commerce expansion. However, our large multinational clients need international solutions. This is another problem we’re solving with Allianz Trade pay. Thanks to multi-country and multi-currency options combined with our geographical coverage, we can support companies that have a global presence.

Finally, if sellers are keen to receive their payment upfront, regardless of the payment term granted to the buyers, we can also support them thanks to our partnerships with large financial institutions.

Allianz Trade pay is a really fit-for-purpose solution for B2B trade. Simple and secure, it brings security to sellers, while enabling them to access an even greater customer pool, and offers flexibility to buyers. In short, it’s a win-win.

Allianz Trade pay is currently the only digital solution on the market that offers businesses selling online the ability to grant payment terms on a global scale, without taking on additional credit risk. We see it as a way to finally unlock online B2B trade. Together with our global footprint and tech capabilities, we’re in a strong position to help scale up the B2B BNPL market – and provide the solutions that meet the needs of businesses operating today.