New data on fraud, cost and settlement delays is prompting finance leaders to rethink the default.

A practical framework for finding the costs that transaction rates, bank fees and generic benchmarks leave out.

By the time a budget reaches final review, most of its assumptions are difficult to change. That makes the weeks before the budget lock the perfect time for finance leaders to examine a cost that is often reduced to a bank fee or processing rate: paying vendors.

For many municipalities, manual vendor payments are “the way things have always been done.” A paper check gets cut, an approval gets signed, a payment gets mailed and a reconciliation gets handled at month-end.

What the pressure on hospital finance teams demands from a vendor payment partner, plus how to evaluate one.

Healthcare finance leaders are making high-stakes operational decisions in one of the most unforgiving environments in business.Total hospital expenses grew 7.5% in 2025. Drug costs rose 13.6%. Supply costs climbed 9.9%. Hospitals also spent $43 billion just trying to collect payments from insurers for care already delivered.

For property management firms, vendor payments are more than a back-office task. They shape board relationships, vendor trust, financial reporting and the day-to-day experience of the communities they serve.

As Q4 comes to a close and calendars fill with final invoices, audit requests, and PTO notices, accounting teams face the perfect storm. Vendor deadlines tighten, staff availability drops, and the volume of transactions spikes. Meanwhile, financial leaders need speed, accuracy, and visibility.

Business Payment Regulations 2025: What You Need to Know

New mandates, evolving standards and reporting rules are reshaping how businesses send payments, and the deadlines are closer than they seem.

Why Government Payments Must Evolve

For decades, government agencies have relied on paper checks to disburse funds to citizens, vendors and employees. But the world has changed. Citizens pay bills online. Workers receive wages by direct deposit. Businesses manage finances through secure apps. Paper-based processes now feel outdated, inefficient and costly.

Healthcare providers and facilities face a dual challenge in their accounting operations: a critical shortage of accounting professionals coupled with increasingly complex payment processes. Unless properly addressed and managed, this problem can threaten the operational stability and security of any healthcare organization, from large hospitals and clinics to rural and specialty care providers.

How long should it take to pay your vendors in 2025? Standards and expectations are constantly evolving, especially as technology changes and creates new benchmarks for speed.