CFOs Tighten Grip on Payments as Cash Flow Pressures Mount

Watch more: CFOs Prioritize B2B Payment Control as Economic Uncertainty Persists

It’s not just cash and capital that are king for today’s chief financial officers.

Against a backdrop of dynamic and ongoing uncertainty, visibility and control are surging to the top of the list of valuable commodities for finance leaders.

“Payment control is becoming a key risk management tool,” Boost Payment Solutions CFO Mariana Lamson told PYMNTS during a discussion for the “What’s Next in Payments: Trade Offs” series. “Companies are really leaning into payment strategies that offer dependability, predictability and control.”

Today’s finance leaders must contend with an ongoing gauntlet of economic pressures, such as inflation, supply chain instability, FX volatility, rising compliance costs and the ever-present specter of fraud. These macro factors put control and certainty at a premium.

“CFOs and finance teams are paying closer attention than ever to converting sales into cash as quickly and securely as possible,” Lamson said.

For decades, B2B payments have been characterized by trade-offs, including the slow adoption of digital tools, friction between buyers and suppliers, and delayed reconciliation. However, that landscape is changing.

Finance leaders managing complex operations in a high-stakes environment must not only preserve capital but also optimize how it flows, where it goes and what it enables. The role of the CFO has expanded from fiscal steward to strategic architect, and at the heart of that transformation is how businesses pay and get paid.

Historically, B2B payments have lagged behind their consumer counterparts. Manual processes, fragmented systems and clunky supplier onboarding have made automation slow and adoption uneven. For many finance teams, payments were a necessary but unglamorous chore, more of a line item than a lever for growth.

Boost’s answer to this challenge is Boost Intercept, the company’s straight-through processing platform that converts commercial card payments into a completely passive experience, reducing manual effort, improving reconciliation, and giving finance teams greater control over cash flow and working capital.

“Many companies in the middle market struggle with unpaid invoices,” Lamson said. “Sometimes as much as 30% go unresolved monthly. That’s not just an efficiency problem. It’s a business continuity risk.”

Boost Intercept helps mitigate that risk by integrating into suppliers’ existing payment systems without requiring change management or IT lift. The result is faster payment cycles and less friction across the ecosystem.

“The best innovations don’t necessarily disrupt; they enhance,” Lamson said. “They build on existing processes and add value.”

While technology can often take center stage, human expertise is the differentiator, she said.

“It’s not just about the tech,” Lamson said. “It’s about the partner behind it. Finance and risk leaders are realizing they need to work with experts who understand the complexities of B2B payments because they are complex, much more so than consumer payments.”

In today’s cost-conscious environment, every investment decision faces scrutiny, but the upshot is that this is leading to smarter, more intentional financial planning.

“CFOs are being asked to do more with less,” Lamson said. “That doesn’t mean slashing budgets. It means aligning spend with outcomes… Clean, accurate payment data helps companies understand not just what’s happening but why. That’s essential for decision making under uncertainty.”

One of the central challenges in B2B payments is balancing the needs of buyers and suppliers. Buyers want to extend their days payable outstanding (DPO), while suppliers push for faster payment to stabilize cash flow. Traditionally, this tension created friction.

Boost’s buyer-focused solution, Boost 100, addresses this head-on. The card-to-account platform allows buyers to pay suppliers using commercial cards 100% of the time, even if the supplier doesn’t accept cards.

“It’s a mutual benefit model,” Lamson said. “Both parties gain liquidity, and nobody has to sacrifice control or incur operational pain.”

“Digital transformation used to be a long-term aspiration, but now it’s a near-term necessity,” she said.

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