Accounts Payable Faces a Quiet Revolution with Embedded Finance

The rise of embedded finance is reshaping one of corporate finance’s most fundamental functions. As software platforms increasingly integrate banking capabilities directly into their core offerings, accounts payable departments are undergoing a transformation that promises to eliminate the friction that has plagued invoice processing and supplier payments for decades.

For the AP clerk manually keying in invoices, the finance controller racing to close the books, and the CFO seeking better cash flow visibility, the shift is tangible. Within the Unit ecosystem alone, over 800,000 individuals, 300,000 independent contractors, and 200,000 small businesses now depend on embedded financial products to manage their money every day. What once required toggling between multiple systems can now happen in a single platform, fundamentally changing how finance teams spend their days.

The Time Drain of Manual Processing

Processing a single invoice manually costs an average of $15 and takes 14.6 days, whilst 68% of businesses still manually key invoices into their accounting systems. For accounts payable clerks, this means the repetitive reality of processing just five invoices per hour. A simple keystroke error can lead to overpayment, vendor disputes, or hours lost digging through records to find the mistake.

The numbers tell a stark story. 56% of AP professionals spend more than 10 hours per week processing invoices and administering supplier payments. For a company processing 500 invoices monthly, an AP clerk typically spends five hours daily on invoice work alone at a cost of roughly $135 per day to the business. Meanwhile, 39% of invoices contain errors, creating additional work to correct mistakes and manage supplier disputes.

For financial controllers, these inefficiencies cascade upward. Controllers manage accounts payable and receivable functions, approve invoices, and oversee the month-end close process. The average small to mid-sized company takes 25 days to process a single invoice manually from receipt to payment. When AP teams are bogged down in manual tasks, financial reporting slows, and controllers lose the real-time visibility needed to provide accurate data for management decisions.

How Automation Changes Daily Work

Embedded finance eliminates these silos by bringing banking functionality directly into the platforms businesses already use. Rather than exporting invoice data to make a payment through a separate banking portal, AP specialists can approve and execute payments in the same environment where they manage their workflows.

The productivity gains are substantial. With automation, AP clerks can process 30 invoices per hour rather than five, cutting daily invoice processing time from five hours to just 50 minutes. The hard labour cost to process invoices falls from $135 per day to about $22. Automated invoice processing delivers 67% lower costs, 99% accuracy in data capture, and 80% improvements in productivity.

For AP clerks, this means invoice data is captured automatically through optical character recognition, matched against purchase orders without manual intervention, and routed through approval workflows that don’t rely on email chains. What once took 10 minutes per invoice now takes two to three minutes. Manual invoice keying has already decreased from 85% in 2023 to 60% in 2024, though clearly more progress remains.

For AP managers, embedded finance platforms provide real-time dashboards showing outstanding payables, upcoming payment deadlines, and cash flow projections. Instead of manually tracking which invoices are due and coordinating with treasury teams, managers can schedule payments directly within the platform. The ability to issue virtual cards for specific purchases gives them precise control over spending whilst automatically reconciling transactions.

Strategic Advantages for Controllers and CFOs

Financial controllers gain perhaps the most significant advantage. With payment capabilities embedded directly into invoice management systems, controllers no longer wait for separate banking reports to reconcile transactions. AP automation can reduce invoice processing time from three to five days from receipt to payment, more than 50% faster than manual processes. According to recent research, accounts payable is finance professionals’ top digitisation priority for the third year running, largely because automation equips finance leaders with real-time visibility into cash flow and working capital.

For CFOs, embedded finance represents more than operational efficiency. It fundamentally changes how they manage liquidity and make strategic decisions. Consider a construction business, which might need merchant cash advances during early growth to manage seasonal cash flow, then commercial cards with expense management tools for day-to-day spending as it scales. For payrolls and subcontractor payments, instant payout solutions become essential, alongside accounts receivable and payable reconciliations integrated directly into operational software.

CFOs increasingly view supplier financing as a competitive advantage. These capabilities were previously available only to large corporations with dedicated treasury teams. Embedded finance democratises them, allowing mid-market CFOs to access the same tools without engaging multiple vendors. The strategic implications extend to vendor relationships, with CFOs using extended payment terms to preserve cash whilst ensuring suppliers have access to early payment options through the platform.

Leading Providers Reshaping the Landscape

Several providers have emerged as leaders in bringing embedded finance to accounts payable. Stripe, long dominant in payment processing, has expanded its Treasury and Capital products to enable software platforms to offer embedded financial accounts and lending. Through Stripe Connect and Stripe Capital, vertical software providers can offer comprehensive financial services, allowing their small business customers to manage payments and access working capital without leaving the platform.

Unit, which focuses exclusively on embedded banking and lending, has positioned itself as an infrastructure provider for platforms that want to build financial features. In 2025, Unit is expanding its suite of products so that tech companies can offer more services for their small business customers, including paying their vendors through accounts payable solutions and being paid by their customers through accounts receivable tools. The company shipped new code more than 3,300 times in 2024, focusing on products that make it easier to launch embedded financial products with minimal engineering lift.

Banking-as-a-service platforms like Weavr have also gained traction by enabling enterprises to integrate financial capabilities without becoming licensed financial institutions themselves. These providers handle the regulatory complexity and bank partnerships, allowing software companies to focus on user experience rather than compliance infrastructure. Banks providing embedded financial solutions allow their corporate customers to witness increased operational efficiency by directly integrating banking solutions with customers’ ERP systems.

How Finance Roles Are Evolving

The shift toward embedded finance is changing job responsibilities across the accounts payable department. AP clerks find their roles evolving from clerical to analytical. Rather than manually keying invoices, they monitor automated processes, oversee supplier data quality, and handle exception management when the system flags discrepancies. The skill set required shifts from data entry accuracy to process optimisation and vendor communication.

AP specialists take on more strategic work. With automation handling routine invoice matching and payment processing, specialists focus on supplier negotiations, early payment discount analysis, and cash flow planning. They work more closely with procurement teams to optimise payment terms and identify opportunities for cost savings through vendor consolidation or contract renegotiation. The time savings translate directly to value. For a company processing 3,000 invoices monthly, automation reduces processing time from 500 hours to 100 to 150 hours, freeing staff for higher-value activities.

For AP managers, the role becomes less about coordinating workflows and more about strategic vendor management. They analyse spending patterns, identify opportunities for process improvement, and implement fraud prevention controls. Rather than chasing down approvals, they focus on building relationships with key suppliers and negotiating favourable terms that benefit both parties. 88% of AP professionals believe automation empowers their teams to contribute to higher-value business activities.

Controllers gain time for the strategic planning and forecasting that their role demands. With AP processes automated and integrated, controllers spend less time on month-end close mechanics and more time analysing financial performance, identifying trends, and providing insights to the executive team. The role shifts from financial record-keeper to strategic advisor.

Security in an Integrated World

The integration of banking and operational systems raises security concerns that finance teams must address. 22% of finance professionals reported their businesses had been targeted by AI-generated deepfake or impersonation scams in 2024, whilst B2B payment fraud has affected 65% of businesses. For controllers responsible for implementing internal controls, embedded finance platforms must demonstrate robust security.

Leading platforms have responded by incorporating fraud detection directly into their offerings. Unit launched tools like Audit Logs to ensure bank partners have real-time visibility and detailed tracking that documents operational changes to customers and their accounts. The company also introduced a Business Continuity Tool designed to ensure end customers maintain continuous access to embedded financial products in the unlikely event of a third-party failure.

Controllers also benefit from improved audit trails. When payments flow through integrated systems, every transaction is automatically logged with supporting documentation attached. This transparency simplifies compliance and makes external audits less burdensome. Segregation of duties remains critical, and well-designed embedded finance platforms enforce approval hierarchies and payment limits that protect against unauthorised transactions.

The Path Forward

The trajectory seems clear. SaaS providers offering integrated payments solutions already account for 36% of SME acquiring revenues, expected to expand to 45% by 2028. Small and medium enterprise adoption of vertical software reached 59% in the US in 2024, compared with 50% just two years earlier. As more businesses adopt vertical software tailored to their industries, the expectation that financial services should be embedded rather than bolted on will only strengthen.

Economic pressures are accelerating adoption. 58% of small businesses reported inflation as a top financial challenge in Q1 2025, marking a new high. In response, businesses are increasingly turning to embedded financing options that allow them to extend payment terms or access working capital without leaving their operational software. The number of AP teams that are fully automated has nearly doubled in the last two years, from 5% to 9%, with 41% planning to automate their payables processes within the next 12 months.

For the AP clerk, this means less time on data entry and more time on meaningful work. For the AP manager, it means strategic vendor relationships replace administrative coordination. For controllers, it means faster closes and better data. For CFOs, it means real-time visibility into the financial levers that drive business performance.

The implications extend beyond mere efficiency gains. By embedding financial services directly into operational workflows, businesses enable better decisions about when to pay suppliers, how to optimise cash flow, and where to access capital. The traditional separation between operational and financial systems is dissolving, replaced by integrated platforms that treat financial management as an intrinsic part of business operations rather than a separate function.

For accounts payable departments long burdened by manual processes and disconnected systems, this transformation represents not just technological progress but a fundamental reimagining of how finance work gets done.