Behind Westpac's latest step

During 2020’s COVID19 lockdown, Westpac wanted to boost the cashflow of NZ’s SME businesses - by paying them faster.

The challenge

Westpac and their suppliers have agreed payment terms, meaning that invoices are paid in payment cycles that could be 20 days from invoice date. There were delays in getting invoice data into Westpac’s systems, and inaccuracies from manual input or invoice scanning - which could take even longer if an invoice was left sitting in the business area.

The solution

Westpac made a series of changes including improving internal processes and removing payment terms - meaning that SME suppliers were paid as soon as an invoice was processed. Next, they implemented eInvoicing which allowed accurate invoice data to go directly into their systems. This further reduced delays in receiving the invoice and allowed Westpac to pay faster. Westpac became eInvoicing enabled through Basware, the provider of their existing peer-to-peer (P2P) system, which was a seamless process relative to acquiring new technology.