Why B2B payments are becoming the next acquirer battleground

Mastercard is urging acquirers to rethink long-held assumptions about B2B payments and commercial card acceptance, arguing that some of the most attractive margins in payments are now emerging far from traditional consumer flows.

B2B payments the next battleground

According to Marc Pettican, Mastercard’s global head of corporate solutions, B2B card economics — particularly within accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) — can exceed those found in legacy B2B2C environments.

For years, many acquirers treated commercial cards as niche, operationally complex and insufficiently profitable.

Pettican contends those beliefs are outdated. Structural changes in how businesses buy, pay and reconcile are opening a materially larger opportunity set.

The $80 Trillion Opportunity

At the heart of Mastercard’s argument is scale.

Pettican estimates roughly $80 trillion of addressable opportunity sits within AP and AR flows globally — much of it historically inaccessible to card networks.

These are not extensions of retail or travel spend, but entirely new categories enabled by digitised procurement and finance platforms.

Crucially, these flows are already surfacing in environments acquirers do not traditionally serve. As a result, margins are not being diluted by entrenched pricing norms.

Instead, acquirers that enter early can participate in economics that are structurally richer than consumer-influenced payment streams.

Acceptance Has Moved Inside Software

The most profound shift is where acceptance decisions now occur. Rather than being negotiated bilaterally between buyers and suppliers, payment logic is increasingly embedded inside ERP systems, procure-to-pay tools and vertical SaaS platforms.

These systems have become the effective “decision layer” for payment credentials, workflows and reconciliation.

Pettican argues that acquirers must reposition themselves accordingly, embedding acceptance directly into the software suppliers already use every day.

Those that continue to rely on traditional merchant acquisition models risk irrelevance as platforms take control of payment choice.

Why Waiting Invites Disintermediation

Fintechs have moved quickly to exploit this shift, integrating card acceptance directly into AP and AR workflows.

Pettican warns that acquirers who hesitate face a dual threat: being disintermediated by software-led payment providers or locked out by competitors that secure early platform partnerships.

In B2B environments, switching costs are high. Once a supplier adopts an embedded acceptance solution, replacing it is operationally disruptive. Early mover advantage, long discussed but rarely realised in payments, is now tangible.

APIs and Straight-Through Processing Change the Economics

To reduce friction, Mastercard is focusing on three enablers.

First, data intelligence that allows acquirers to analyse AP and AR information and identify optimal acceptance moments.

Second, a single integration layer through capabilities such as Commercial Connect API, which provides scalable access to virtual cards and broader commercial payment tools.

Third, straight-through processing via automated reconciliation, removing manual intervention from invoice to settlement.

Together, these capabilities transform commercial acceptance from a bespoke exercise into a repeatable platform play.

A Strategic Imperative for Acquirers

Pettican frames B2B acceptance as both defensive and offensive. It protects existing corporate relationships while unlocking entirely new revenue pools.

The message is clear: B2B payments are no longer a side-show. For acquirers, they may be the most consequential growth lever of the next decade.