When it comes to B2B payments, U.S. corporations aren't giving up their paper checks anytime soon, but they are becoming more interested in mobile payments, according to a report released today by the Association for Financial Professionals.

The 2013 AFP Electronic Payments Survey, underwritten by J.P. Morgan Treasury Services, collected responses from more than 450 financial professionals in September 2013. The survey, conducted every three years, highlights trends, identifies best practices and reveals solutions for advancing automation of B2B payments, the AFP said.

Adoption of wire payments and ACH payments are slowing as paper checks can now be converted directly into images or ACH debits. Meanwhile, the use of mobile payments at the corporate level is becoming increasingly popular, providing U.S. businesses with an expanding range of payment choices as they migrate from paper to electronic methods.

"The typical organization makes half its B2B payments by check, down from 81 percent in 2004," Jim Kaitz, AFP's president and CEO, said in a news release. "AFP strongly supports electronic payments, and we're pleased to see the payment innovations now available to corporate treasurers."

Respondents identified a number of reasons why companies are often reluctant to adopt electronic payments methods:

• 82 percent experience difficulty convincing customers to pay electronically
• 74 percent have difficulty convincing suppliers to accept e-payments
• 71 percent found a shortage of IT resources for implementation
• 70 percent have a lack of standard format for remittance information, with 66 percent acknowledging a lack of integration between electronic payment and account systems

The report also found that a number of companies are evaluating the use of mobile payment tools in the next three years in the following areas:

• Reviewing payments sent or received (cited by 37 percent of respondents)
• Reviewing balance and other payment information (37 percent)
• Approving payments (36 percent)

"This year's survey affirms the multitude of barriers that practitioners face when attempting to adopt new electronic payment trends," said Diane Quinn, managing director and global large corporate sales executive, J.P. Morgan Treasury Services. "Practitioners who overcome these challenges and break through the status quo of limited electronic payment adoption are well positioned to achieve renewed growth, improved fraud control and efficiency gains."

Download the complete findings here.

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