CBI pushes Request to Pay into corporate collections market

CBI is extending Request to Pay into the corporate market, giving Italian payment service providers a new tool to help businesses send digital payment requests, speed up collections and improve cashflow visibility.

The service is being delivered with support from EBA CLEARING and Nexi, using EBA CLEARING’s pan-European Request to Pay infrastructure and Nexi’s technology. It allows companies to send structured payment requests directly into customers’ internet banking and mobile banking channels, where they can be paid in a few clicks without manual data entry.

The corporate rollout builds on Request to Pay infrastructure already used for payments to the Italian public administration. The new step moves the model closer to business collections, where late payment, manual reconciliation and fragmented payment data remain major working capital challenges.

CBI said the service gives corporates faster and more predictable collections, better control over due dates and lower exposure to fraud and errors through pre-filled payment data and timely notifications.

Liliana Fratini Passi, managing director of CBI, said the solution gives companies “a concrete tool to simplify and enhance the efficiency of collection and payment processes”, while improving traceability and real-time reporting.

For treasury teams, the key value is not only payment speed. Automated reconciliation and integration into corporate systems can give finance teams a clearer view of incoming cash and support more accurate liquidity planning.

The development also shows how payment infrastructure is moving deeper into working capital management. Request to Pay does not replace receivables finance, but it can reduce friction in the cash conversion cycle and help companies exert tighter control over collections.