NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 21, 2026--
American Express today announced a new B2B payment feature and automated invoice reporting capabilities within Buyer Initiated Payments (BIP), which are designed to improve the B2B payments experience for both buyers and suppliers. New findings from Amex Trendex research underscore why this matters: 92% of buyers and 91% of suppliers agree that improving the invoice-based payment experience for the other is increasingly important for their business relationships.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260721220464/en/
BIP enables buyers to initiate electronic payments to suppliers as an alternative to paper checks and ACH, leveraging American Express’ unique direct relationships with suppliers to help drive working capital flexibility on both sides of the transaction. To further enhance BIP, Amex is introducing BIP Connect, a new feature that connects eligible BIP customers to Paymode, one of the largest B2B payment networks in the U.S. through a new partnership with Bottomline, a leading provider of payments and financial technology solutions; and new capabilities 1 that will automate reporting that matches invoices to payments, helping to speed up processing and improve accuracy.
“We know our business customers are looking for simple and seamless ways to pay their suppliers. That’s why we’re building on BIP’s strong foundation of payments automation and working capital flexibility with innovations that make it even stronger,” said Eva Reda, Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Services Products, American Express. “With BIP Connect, we’re combining the strengths of American Express and Bottomline to accelerate supplier onboarding and provide seamless access to one of the largest supplier networks in the U.S. We’re also creating a better payments experience for buyers and suppliers by delivering capabilities that can help drive more on-time payments.”
“Getting paid shouldn’t be complicated,” said Casey Klyszeiko, Executive Vice President, Global Merchant and Network Services Products, American Express. “As more businesses look to modernize B2B payments, American Express is helping connect buyers and suppliers through a more integrated and automated invoice payment experience that simplifies accounts payable and receivable, streamlines workflows, and makes it easier to do business together.”
Expanding How Buyers and Suppliers Connect
With BIP Connect, eligible American Express BIP customers can now access Paymode’s extensive network of authenticated and verified suppliers, helping streamline onboarding, improve payment efficiency and reduce risk, spanning key industries like manufacturing, healthcare, commercial real estate and higher education.
Businesses can now initiate payments with their existing American Express BIP account, while suppliers receive funds via Premium ACH through Paymode with embedded authentication and fraud controls. The new offering creates a more efficient payment experience, helping buyers optimize working capital while enabling suppliers to receive and reconcile payments faster.
“Our collaboration with American Express reflects a shared commitment to helping businesses simplify and modernize the way they move money,” said Craig Saks, CEO of Bottomline. “Bringing Paymode into BIP gives organizations greater visibility, stronger payment security, and a more connected payments experience, while helping vendors streamline reconciliation and improve cash flow management.”
This comes as businesses look for simpler ways to manage supplier payments. According to the Amex Trendex, payment inefficiencies can affect broader business operations: 67% of financial decision-makers agree that payment inefficiencies make it harder for their business to operate at its full potential.
Improving Invoice Management Through Automated Reporting
To further reduce friction, American Express is also enhancing invoice management for BIP customers. New capabilities within BIP will help improve invoice matching through automated reporting to drive accurate and timely payments by using data directly from suppliers’ systems, enhancing visibility on the status of invoices, saving businesses time, and helping ensure the right payment gets made faster.
This matters as manual invoice management can lead to payment issues like delays or inaccurate payments. Amex Trendex findings show that 82% of financial decision-makers surveyed say manual invoice processes increase the risk of costly human errors, while about a quarter (23%) of financial decision-makers say that improving the accuracy of invoice-based payment processing would have the biggest positive impact on their business.
These new capabilities are scheduled to be released later this year to a subset of American Express Buyer Initiated Payments customers. Contact your American Express representative for more information.
Amex Trendex Reveals the Hidden Costs of Manual B2B Payments
The Amex Trendex highlights the operational burden that invoice-based payment processes can place on businesses, with respondents citing manual work, time spent resolving issues, and challenges related to cash flow management and business operations. Additional findings include:
METHODOLOGY
American Express commissioned a 7-minute online survey among n=521 U.S. Business Owners and/or Financial Decision-Makers (DMs) who manage or oversee specific business functions (including invoice-based payments; accounts payable/receivable; accounts reconciliation; business spend; cash flow; and working capital). The survey included n=100 buyers, n=164 suppliers and n=257 respondents who are both buyers and suppliers. Respondents’ organizations were either small (<100 employees, n=134), mid-sized (100-999 employees, n=200) or large (1,000+ employees, n=187). The survey was fielded between June 10-17, 2026.
At the total sample, the margin of error is +/-4 percentage points (ppts) at the 95% confidence interval. By role, the margins of error for the following are: Buyers, +/- 10 ppts; Suppliers, +/- 8 ppts; Both a Buyer and Supplier, +/-6 ppts.
ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS
American Express (NYSE: AXP) is a global payments and premium lifestyle brand powered by technology. Our colleagues around the world back our customers with differentiated products, services, and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.
Founded in 1850 and headquartered in New York, American Express’ brand is built on trust, security, service, and a rich history of delivering innovation and Membership value for our customers. We seek to provide the world’s best customer experience every day to a broad range of consumers, small and medium-sized businesses, and large corporations, and we build and manage relationships with millions of merchants across our global network.
Location: New York
American Express Launches Intelligent Capabilities to Help Streamline Buyer and Supplier Payments
NEW YORK (AP) — The progressive movement may already have hit its high point in the 2026 midterms. Or this may be the beginning of a much more powerful shift as voters, eager for change, decide to embrace far-left populism on a national scale.
It depends upon who you ask within a Democratic Party that is undeniably locked in a tug-of-war between emboldened progressives demanding radical change and the party's pragmatic establishment.
Progressives expect their newest candidate in Maine, former state lawmaker Troy Jackson, will clinch the Democratic nomination Saturday to replace Graham Platner on the November ballot, giving the party a chance to recover from Platner's downfall earlier this month. Next up will be August Senate primaries in Michigan and Minnesota — contests that put the intraparty divide on clear display less than four months before the midterms are decided. All three states will be important in the fight for Senate control, raising the stakes over who Democrats should nominate.
“We’re seeing the pendulum shift from right to left. That’s ultimately what this midterm election is about,” said Joseph Geevarghese, who leads Our Revolution, the progressive organization founded by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders a decade ago. “We're in a transitional moment in national politics.”
On the other side of the same party, establishment leaders, including the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate, believe that the progressive movement's momentum this summer will ultimately hurt the party's chances in the general election this fall. Democrats are in position to win control of at least one chamber in Congress given President Donald Trump's low approval ratings, the unpopular war in Iran and surging costs.
Count Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist Democratic group Third Way, as those fighting to stop his party's ascendant progressive wing from undermining their midterm chances.
“It is an enormous mistake and an enormous risk for them to be engaged in an effort to push the party to the left,” Bennett said. Sanders' brand of far-left politics, he added, “is not what America is asking for.”
Voters will ultimately decide who is right this fall — and the results could shape policy and politics inside the Democratic Party for years to come.
In the meantime, as establishment Democrats worry from Washington, Sanders and his allies like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are barnstorming through key swing states to harness the energy of the party's grassroots.
Republican officials were watching with glee.
“Socialists have gone from a sideshow in the Democrat Party to the main event," said Bernadette Breslin, spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
On Monday night in Minneapolis, Sanders railed against billionaires and corporations as he campaigned for Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor who has aligned herself with his populist movement in Minnesota's contentious primary for U.S. Senate.
“When you stand up to these billionaires, as you will, and when you defeat them, you will bring hope and inspiration to people all across our country and in fact, all over the world,” Sanders said.
Flanagan faces U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who is backed by much of the party's establishment in a race that has brought in millions of dollars from super PACS and other independent groups backing both candidates.
“I want you to know that we have an opportunity to change the way that Washington works,” Flanagan said.
When they were done, Sanders, Flanagan, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and retiring Sen. Tina Smith locked arms as John Lennon's “Power to the People” thundered from the speakers.
The scene was similar a day earlier in Michigan, where Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives campaigned with Abdul El-Sayed, whom many centrist Democrats worry is too far left for a must-win seat for Democrats in a battleground state.
Dozens of progressive candidates up and down the ballot aligned with Sanders, including more than 30 backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, have won Democratic nomination contests in recent weeks — in some cases defeating sitting members of Congress.
There have been setbacks, however, none more painful for the progressive movement than Platner's implosion in Maine.
Platner, a Sanders acolyte and political newcomer who dominated Maine's sitting governor in the Democratic Senate primary, was forced to drop out barely a week ago after a sexual assault allegation emerged from his former girlfriend. Platner has denied the accusation, which many allies deemed credible.
Geevarghese described the situation as “a bump in the road” that would not cause any lasting damage for the broader progressive movement.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a 2028 presidential prospect aligned with the progressive wing, acknowledged that he made a mistake by supporting Platner when so little was known about his background.
“It’s an important lesson of being more aware of the red flags of candidates,” Khanna said, while insisting that the progressive movement “is so much bigger than any individual.”
“Despite a very flawed candidate, the platform of Medicare for all and no foreign wars and taxing billionaire wealth was so strong that he did well,” Khanna said of Platner. “No one candidate is a test for the progressive movement.”
But the fallout from Platner’s campaign renewed a long-running debate among Democratic establishment figures over whether the party’s progressive wing is hurting its chances of winning competitive general election races.
The divide has been especially apparent in the Senate, where some rank-and-file senators have backed progressive candidates at odds with Schumer and other party leaders. Platner’s collapse sparked behind-the-scenes finger pointing and prompted some establishment figures to more actively step into other competitive primaries.
In Michigan, for example, Sen. Gary Peters endorsed Haley Stevens last week after previously saying he wouldn’t get involved.
“We do want to have candidates who are fully vetted running in these high-profile races,” Peters said.
Bennett, of Third Way, says that it's all about winning in November. That's not to say he thinks it's impossible for Democrats to win with a nominee like El-Sayed on the ballot.
“In this cycle, with the war raging again, anyone might be able to beat a Republican in a place like Michigan,” he said. “But it sure as hell is going to be harder.”
Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Washington and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed.
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., shops at the Decadent Dogs pet store with owner, Roxanne Leder, in South Haven, Mich., on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Kristen Norman)
FILE - This photo combination shows Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., left, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Nov. 5, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, Abbie Parr, file)
U.S. Senate candidate Troy Jackson takes part in a debate at the WCSH-6 television studio, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, center, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, poses with politicians including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., second from left, during a campaign rally Monday, July 20, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
From left foreground, Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney, D-Detroit, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate primary candidate Abdul El-Sayed, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. join hands together following a campaign rally for El-Sayed, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
