Payments in 2026 are becoming more strategic for manufacturers. While the nature of manufacturing companies’ payments will continue to focus on areas like managing invoices, deposits, supplier payments, and receiving payments from large B2B orders with long receivable periods, the systems in place to manage these payments are changing.
Why Manufacturing Businesses Need Specialized Payment Solutions in 2026
Manufacturers tend to have more complex payment needs relative to ecommerce and retail businesses. Manufacturers may receive deposits, milestone payments, B2B invoices, recurring orders, payments to distributors, ACH, wires, cards, checks, virtual cards and international payments from multiple systems.
The payment industry is changing quickly. According to Nacha, the ACH Network processed 35.2 billion ACH payments totaling $93 trillion in 2025 alone. Additionally, Same Day ACH processed 1.4 billion transactions totaling $3.9 trillion in 2025. These statistics demonstrate the shift of B2B companies towards digital payments that are quickly trackable.
Finally, according to the AFP 2026 Payments Fraud and Control Survey, 58% of organizations reported experiencing check fraud in 2025. Checks are the most frequently fraudulently processed payment method. For these reasons, manufacturers that still rely on checks to receive payments from their business partners are placing their businesses at risk of slower cash flow and fraudulent checks.
Who Needs Manufacturing Payment Solutions in 2026
This guide is most useful for:
- manufacturers selling to distributors, dealers, retailers, or wholesalers
- industrial suppliers with invoice-heavy payment workflows
- equipment manufacturers collecting deposits or milestone payments
- companies using ERP, accounting, AR, or AP automation systems
- manufacturers accepting ACH, wires, cards, virtual cards, or checks
- finance teams trying to reduce manual reconciliation
- operations teams managing supplier and customer payment visibility
- B2B sellers comparing merchant account services and integrated payments
- manufacturers looking at payment analytics, fraud controls, or cash-flow improvements
The more your business depends on invoice terms, large-ticket orders, partial payments, customer portals, supplier payments, credit approvals, or ERP reporting, the more important payment strategy becomes. Manufacturing payment solutions should support the full order-to-cash workflow, not just the moment money moves.
Manufacturing Payment Options Compared
Manufacturers usually need a mix of payment options. The right setup depends on transaction size, customer type, payment timing, risk tolerance and how payment data needs to flow into business systems.
| Payment Option | Best For | Main Strength | Main Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACH | B2B invoices, recurring orders and larger payments | Lower-cost bank-payment rail with strong 2025 volume growth | Requires authorization, return monitoring and reconciliation |
| Same Day ACH | Faster invoice settlement and time-sensitive payments | Faster movement than standard ACH | May carry higher fees or limits depending on provider |
| Wire Transfers | High-value, urgent, or international payments | Fast and familiar for large B2B payments | Higher cost and higher fraud risk if controls are weak |
| Virtual Cards | Supplier payments and buyer-driven payment programs | Strong tracking, controls and rebate potential | Can create acceptance-cost concerns for suppliers |
| Credit Cards | Deposits, online B2B portals and smaller invoices | Familiar, fast and useful for buyer flexibility | Higher processing cost on larger transactions |
| Checks | Legacy buyer or supplier workflows | Familiar and still widely used | Slow, manual and heavily targeted by fraud |
| Pay-by-Bank or Instant Payments | Emerging account-to-account payment use cases | Faster settlement and potential cost efficiency | Still depends on bank, provider and buyer adoption |
For most manufacturers, the goal is not to eliminate every legacy payment method immediately. It is to create a payment policy that guides buyers toward the right rail based on invoice size, risk, timing and reconciliation needs.
Manufacturing Payment Providers and Tools Compared
The best provider depends on whether the manufacturer needs merchant account services, ERP integration, AR automation, ACH, virtual cards, customer portals, or B2B payment reporting.
| Provider or Tool | Best Fit | Key Strength | Main Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment Nerds | Manufacturers that need merchant account services, ACH, card acceptance, payment integrations and reporting strategy | Strong fit for integrated payment processing, ERP-connected workflows, ACH, cards, fraud controls, chargeback prevention and account stability | More consultative than a single-purpose AR tool |
| Versapay | Manufacturers focused on AR automation, customer portals and invoice-to-cash workflows | Strong B2B receivables, ERP integrations and customer self-service payment tools | More AR-focused than general merchant account strategy |
| NMI | Manufacturers, ISVs and software-connected businesses needing gateway flexibility | Supports ecommerce, in-person, mobile and integrated gateway workflows | Requires the right processor and acquiring relationship |
| Authorize.net | Manufacturers wanting a familiar gateway for cards, eCheck and recurring payments | Broad compatibility, customer profiles and eCheck support | Gateway tools do not replace full ERP or AR strategy |
| Stripe | Online-first manufacturers, parts sellers, platforms, or distributors with developer resources | Strong APIs, invoices, payment links and payment method support | Not the best fit for every complex B2B or high-risk model |
| Bank or Treasury Services Provider | Larger manufacturers managing wires, ACH, lockbox and treasury workflows | Strong banking relationship and treasury controls | May need separate gateway, portal, or merchant account tools |
These are fit-based comparisons, not universal rankings. A small parts manufacturer, contract manufacturer, industrial distributor and enterprise equipment producer may all need different manufacturing payment solutions.
What VAMP Means for Manufacturers
While ACH, wire, and check transactions are common methods for receiving customer payments, manufacturers that accept Visa cards through online portals, links, ecommerce stores, and MOTO transactions are exposed to the risks of VAMP.
VAMP stands for Visa Anti-Fraud and Merchant Program. It measures the number of fraud and non-fraud disputes, divided by the total number of settled transactions with Visa.
Manufacturers with online B2B portals should also be aware of enumeration attacks. These are bot-initiated attacks that attempt to test Visa cards at checkout. The enumeration ratio measures the number of suspected card testing attempts divided by the total number of authorization attempts on a Visa account. This is known as the VAAI score. Manufacturers with online portals should use fraud-detection software and tools, such as CAPTCHA, to prevent enumeration attacks targeting their companies.
How to Modernize Manufacturing Payment Workflows in 2026
Start by mapping the full payment lifecycle. Identify how customers are invoiced, which payment methods they use, where remittance data arrives, how payments post to ERP and how finance reconciles deposits, fees, short pays, refunds, credits and chargebacks.
A practical modernization process usually includes:
- audit current payment methods and costs
- identify where checks can be replaced with ACH or digital options
- connect payment acceptance to ERP, accounting, or AR systems
- create payment policies by invoice size and customer type
- add customer portal or invoice payment options where useful
- configure ACH authorization and return monitoring
- review fraud controls for wires, checks and online card payments
- improve reporting for cash flow, fees and reconciliation
- train AR, AP, sales and customer-service teams on the new workflow
The goal is not to force every buyer into one payment method. The goal is to create a payment structure that is easier to control, easier to reconcile and better aligned with manufacturing margins.
Manufacturing Payment Solutions Costs Explained
Manufacturing payment solution costs depend on a variety of factors, such as the volume and size of invoices, the payment methods to be used, and the integration of software systems. Costs can include transaction fees, gateway fees, ACH fees, wire fees, virtual card costs, software fees, implementation fees, and chargeback fees.
For manufacturing companies, the question of cost may be the total cost of payment solutions rather than the cost of each individual payment method. Checks may seem inexpensive, but they include the costs of staff time, fraud, and mail. Card payments may be more costly per transaction, but allow manufacturers to collect payments and deposits faster. ACH payments may be lower-cost for individuals with large invoices, but still include the costs of authorization and payment returns.
Payment Nerds can assist manufacturers in evaluating the costs of each payment method to determine the best way to collect payments from customers. Each company will have different factors to consider when evaluating costs, such as invoice amounts, customer payment preferences, the company’s margin, and payment terms.
Manufacturing Payment Mistakes to Avoid
The biggest mistake companies make is treating payment processing as a finance department issue. Payments impact sales, the customer experience, order release, fulfillment, suppliers, and cash flow. If the data of payments does not move through the company smoothly, several departments will feel the impact of that.
Another mistake is attempting to digitize a bad process. Processes involving paper invoices can be digitized in some portals, but that does not mean the company has eliminated bad processes such as unclear remittance data, no payment policies, and no communication between companies.
Ignoring the risks of card-not-present payments is another mistake manufacturers make. Adding a portal for online payments and ecommerce orders requires an emphasis on fraud prevention, including fraud alerts, TC40 reports, TC15 chargebacks, and VAMP. B2B does not mean low risk for cybersecurity threats.
Key B2B Payment Trends for Manufacturing
ACH and Same Day ACH Growth
For manufacturers, ACH is becoming even more important as a means of settling invoices with business partners. This includes everything from manufacturing processes and their customers to suppliers of materials. For transactions that require more rapid settlement than ACH can usually process, same day ACH offers another option. Manufacturers can treat ACH payments as an operational rail for their payments. This means ensuring that the payments clear through ACH to the correct customer and invoice through authorizations, account validation, return code monitoring and reporting software connected to their ERP systems.
ERP-Connected Payment Workflows
Most manufacturing companies use some form of ERP systems. However, their payment workflows may still exist outside of that system. This can cause problems for those companies in terms of data duplication, invoice matching and reporting. By connecting their payment systems to their ERP software, accounting and AR software and their customers’ accounts, manufacturers can automate their payments and reduce the number of problems that occur in the payment system.
AR Automation and Customer Portals
For manufacturers, AR automation is becoming more important. This is largely because they want to reduce the number of times that customers pay them late for their manufactured goods. AR automation software allows those customers to create accounts, pay invoices, view their payment options, download receipts and communicate with the company with their invoices. AR automation allows the manufacturers to gain visibility into each customer’s payment behavior and the number of issues that each customer creates for their collections process.
Check Reduction and Fraud Controls
Checks are still used in the manufacturing industry by most companies. However, the number of instances of check fraud makes it all the more important for these industries to find alternatives to checks and reduce the number of checks that they write. Depending upon the size of the manufacturer, there are a variety of alternatives to checks. If necessary, ACH payments, virtual cards, wires, customer portal payments and pay-by-bank software can all be implemented as check alternatives. For checks that are still processed, POS software and other controls can be used to limit the number of issues caused by check fraud.
Virtual Cards and Payment Policy
Virtual card implementations into B2B payments are becoming more common. For instance, virtual cards can be used for payables but can present some challenges for receivables if the customers of the manufacturers require the company to accept their cards for large invoices. Manufacturers must have a policy regarding when their business will accept cards. Some companies may only accept cards for invoices above a certain amount. Others may allow a certain percentage of customers to pay by card while others must use ACH. Such policies can become part of the pricing of the manufactured goods and the policies will have an impact on the customers of the manufacturer.
Payment Analytics and Cash-Flow Visibility
Payment analytics can provide manufacturers with information regarding their B2B payments. Reports can show information about each company’s days to pay, the number of issues with their payments, and how they are managing their cash flow. Manufacturers often have to make decisions regarding their inventory, labor, equipment and production. All of these can benefit from a better understanding of each company’s cash flow and how it may develop in the future. In essence, manufacturing and business payment reports will allow the manufacturers’ leaders to understand where their businesses’ money is becoming delayed and why.
FAQs About Payment Trends for Manufacturers
Q: What are the top payment trends for manufacturers in 2026?
A: The top payment trends for manufacturers include ACH, Same Day ACH, ERP payments, automated receivables, customer portals, virtual cards and checks and payment analytics.
Q: Why are manufacturing payments not the same as ecommerce payments?
A: Manufacturers need a system that handles invoices, deposits, B2B orders, supplier payments, ERP integrations and payment reconciliations.
Q: Are any manufacturers still using checks?
A: Yes, many manufacturers do use checks for payments. However, the fraud and manual processing of checks is causing more manufacturers to use ACH, virtual cards, wires and customer payment portals.
Q: How can ACH payments help manufacturers?
A: ACH allows manufacturers to collect larger invoices and payments that occur at the same time for a lower cost than card transactions. ACH is best used with an authorization and return monitoring system and an ERP.
Q: What is VAMP and why is it important for manufacturers who accept Visa payments online?
A: VAMP is a program by Visa that monitors fraud and disputes on transactions that occur online and for card-not-present payments. The VAMP ratio is used by manufacturers to compare the number of fraudulent and non-fraudulent disputes to the total number of online and card-not-present transactions.
Q: What is an enumeration attack?
A: An enumeration attack is when bots try to use common payment card numbers on the payment page. Payment portals for manufacturers should have controls and filters to eliminate these threats.
Q: How can Payment Nerds help manufacturers modernize their payments?
A: Payment Nerds can help manufacturers compare the many payment and fraud solution options to find the best one to support their business and financial needs.
Conclusion
The biggest B2B payment trends in manufacturing in 2025 all had one thing in common: a focus on improving the payment process. Payments should be made via ACH, cards, portals, ERP systems, including fraud controls and payment and transaction analytics, and require minimal manual work.
If you are in the manufacturing space and looking at payment solutions for 2026, or looking to modernize your B2B payments, Payment Nerds can help you make the right decision. It’s not about adding payment methods. It’s about finding the right solution to support your business in 2026 and beyond.
Sources
- Nacha. “ACH Network Volume and Value Statistics.” Accessed May 2026.
- Nacha. “Same Day ACH and Business-to-Business Payments Propel ACH Network Volume Growth in 2025.” Accessed May 2026.
- Federal Reserve Financial Services. “New Survey on How Businesses Use Instant Payments.” Accessed May 2026.
- Association for Financial Professionals. “2026 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report.” Accessed May 2026.
- Deloitte. “2025 Manufacturing Industry Outlook.” Accessed May 2026.
- National Association of Manufacturers. “Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey.” Accessed May 2026.
- McKinsey & Company. “The 2025 Global Payments Report.” Accessed May 2026.
- Versapay. “ERP Payment Integrations.” Accessed May 2026.
- NMI. “Full Commerce Enablement.” Accessed May 2026.
- Visa. “Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program Fact Sheet.” Accessed May 2026.
- PCI Security Standards Council. “Merchant Resources.” Accessed May 2026.
