Levvel Research, Tipalti's accounts payable research: fraud, data security are top concerns

Levvel Research has conducted an independent study on the state of accounts payable, highlighting the challenges in dealing with fraud as cross-border payments increase in frequency.

The research was commissioned by Tipalti – a global payables automation solution company – and it found that 83% of companies made cross-border payments in 2019, representing a 10% increase over 2018. 450 professionals from North American organisations across a variety of industries and market segments were surveyed.

However, fraud remains a top concern, with 33% of businesses being worried about it. Additional concerns include data security (26%), local tax and regulatory requirements (26%), the challenge of monitoring supplier information for regulatory compliance (23%), and the growing volume of international payments (19%).

The research findings also include:

• The most popular payment methods: Most organisations make their international payments via wire transfers (69%), followed by PayPal (38%), local ACH transfers/global ACH (29%), checks (29%), and prepaid debit cards (17%).
• ePayments: Electronic payments solutions bring down the costs of cross-border payments, and help organisations properly manage them.
• Domestic vs. cross border: 24% of businesses have a knowledge gap regarding international payments processes, while 26% say they have a challenge meeting local tax and regulatory requirements.