Payment Executives Are Eyeing Blockchain B2B Payments: Ripple Survey

Payment leaders actively investigating blockchain’s potential find business-to-business (B2B) payments to be the most promising application, a Ripple survey published Tuesday showed.

The survey, conducted in partnership with the US Faster Payments Council, found that more than 40% of those experimenting with crypto domestically are considering B2B applications.

Additionally, 37% of those already using crypto payment products have a B2B use in mind.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments rank as the second most popular use case among individuals testing or using cryptocurrency, accounting for 20% of preferences.

Companies experimenting with or implementing blockchain technology, beyond just crypto, demonstrate broader adoption preferences. Among these organizations, both P2P and account-to-account (A2A) payments share equal popularity with B2B use cases.

Crypto’s Potential to Reshape B2B Models

The Ripple survey gathered insights from over 100 key figures in the payments industry, including founders, CEOs, and technical leaders. The respondents represent a range of sectors including retail, banking, fintech, and hail from regions across North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa.

B2B payments are financial transactions conducted in exchange of goods or services between two separate companies. Ripple’s survey indicates that payment leaders view crypto acting as a catalyst for improved efficiency in B2B payments, exceeding the speed of traditional banking systems.

Beyond mere speed, integrating crypto presents possibilities for reshaping B2B models and generating new revenue streams. This potential for market growth underscores the growing interest in adopting crypto solutions within the B2B landscape.

Leaders See Potential in Crypto for Global Commerce

The survey also showed that leaders are interested in cross-border payments. Using cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments can improve efficiency, cut costs, and make it easier to access compared to traditional methods.

Consumer-to-business (C2B) payments are the least prioritized use case among those currently using or experimenting with blockchain. Nevertheless, there is some interest in C2B payments among those considering future applications.

B2B payments emerge as the leading use case amongst respondents actively engaged with crypto. In the majority of instances, B2B payments constitute over one-third of total usage.

Regulatory Ambiguity, Volatile Prices, Slow Adoption Pose Risks

Despite the enthusiasm expressed for blockchain and crypto, the survey also uncovered concerns.

When asked about the barriers to using crypto for payments, 64% of participants named a lack of regulatory clarity as the primary hurdle. Price volatility and a lack of industry adoption followed, with 57% and 48% of respondents identifying these factors as concerns, respectively.