Dive Brief:

• Marking its entry into the U.S. market, the Stockholm-based accounts payable technology company Medius has acquired OnPay Solutions, an invoice payments provider, for an undisclosed sum, according to a press release issued by Medius today.
• The acquisition will allow Medius to add payment processing to its services, enabling customers to operate more efficiently and improving its fraud and risk detection, the release said. Jacksonville, Florida-based OnPay Solutions has more than 400 clients and 40 banking integrations available.
• Medius said the acquisition allows it to open its first U.S.-based office with the new Jacksonville presence. OnPay Solutions’ 35 employees will remain with the company, per the announcement.

Dive Insight:

Medius has been busy this past month trying to expand and enhance its payment services. On March 1, the company entered into a strategic partnership with Nomentia, a Finland-based cash and treasury management firm, to adapt to changes within the Nordic market, such as participating in the P27 initiative that aims to create a single pan-Nordic payment infrastructure for the region, according to a company announcement. 

On March 16, Medius said in a press release that private equity firm Advent International had acquired a minority stake in the company for an undisclosed amount. The financing will allow the company to use artificial intelligence, machine learning and other technologies to enhance its automation services and progress toward touchless invoicing.

Regarding its OnPay acquisition, Medius said it will now offer its customers that automate their invoice payments an annual guaranteed cash rebate on their spending. In addition, the acquisition will enable OnPay Solutions to reach customers abroad and in the U.S. as well as automate other accounting functions for its current clients, OnPay CEO Neal Anderson said in the release.

"Payment processing is the last mile in [accounts payable] automation," Medius CEO Jim Lucier said in the statement. "Enhancing our end-to-end solution that automates the process of receiving, handling, approving and paying an invoice, as well as onboarding and managing vendors, requires best in class technology and deep domain expertise."

Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted how companies run their back offices, 2022 might be the year technology will streamline accounts receivable and accounts payable. For now, many companies still use manual processes for reconciliation, creating an opportunity for companies automating the practices.

In the years leading up to the pandemic, payments companies such as Fleetcor, Paymerang and Edenred have raised funding or made acquisitions to bolster their automatic invoicing services. With many back-office employees working remotely, the deadly pandemic accelerated the need for automated invoicing tools.

But as Medius extends its reach to the U.S., other payment firms are developing invoicing tools or acquiring companies to strengthen their existing services. Stripe, the company that helps companies manage invoicing, subscriptions and other payments, acquired Recko, an Indian software company that automates reconciliation, last October. In August 2021, ZenBusiness, a payments company that services small businesses, introduced a payment and invoicing app called ZenBusiness Money, a tool that lets companies create and send invoices, accept credit card and bank transfer payments and oversee their business income.