Payments to Suppliers: Times, Methods and Management for Companies
Managing supplier payments means governing three variables: the terms agreed in contracts, the transfer method and reconciliation. The ordinary SEPA transfer credits in 1 business day, the SEPA instant transfer arrives in under 10 seconds 24/7 (source: SEPA scheme rules, EPC). Here you find scheduling, costs and automations.
Paying suppliers: method, times and cost
| Method | Times | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Instant transfer via open banking (RoxPay) | Under 10 seconds, 24/7 | From €0.13 + 0.10% per transaction |
| Ordinary SEPA transfer | 1 business day (SEPA rules) | Fees according to the bank's price list |
| Instant transfer through the bank | A few seconds | Often €1-5 per transaction according to bank price lists |
Sources: SEPA scheme rules (EPC), public bank price lists, RoxPay price list. Actual costs depend on the bank and the volume.
Organising the supplier schedule
The starting point is the schedule: every invoice with receipt date, agreed term, IBAN and amount. Electronic invoices arrive through the Exchange System (SDI) with the supplier's IBAN indicated in the document, so the schedule can be built directly from the XML files without retyping them.
The operational cycle has four steps: invoice receipt and verification, payment scheduling at maturity, execution with a unique reference, reconciliation with the bank statement. The most constant bottleneck in manual management is not the payment itself, it is reconciliation: amounts matched from memory, month-end closes, double checks on every transfer.
In Italian B2B the bank transfer remains the dominant method: it covers about 70% of company-to-company transactions according to market data reported by Agenda Digitale (July 2026). The instant transfer and automation via API are the next step for those who want to settle in seconds and reconcile automatically.
Payment terms: what the law says
The discipline of payment terms between companies is in Italian legislative decree 231/2002 (payments law), implementation of EU Directive 2011/7. The standard term in commercial relationships is 30 days, with the option to extend up to 60 days for SMEs by derogation, extended several times over time by the Italian legislator; the expiry of the current derogation should be checked with your adviser before setting terms in contracts.
Late payments accrue commercial late-payment interest (reference rates plus margin, communicated every year by the Ministry). In electronic invoices the term and the IBAN are mandatory data: the electronic invoice indicates the payment term and the supplier's IBAN in every document.
The choice of timing is not only a compliance matter: paying in 10 days with an instant transfer, instead of 30 with the ordinary one, can become negotiating leverage for price discounts with suppliers.
Ordinary SEPA transfer vs instant: times and costs
The ordinary SEPA transfer is calibrated on contractual terms: credit in 1 business day with holidays excluded from the count, cost charged to the sender according to the bank's price list. It works for agreed deadlines, it weighs when liquidity must move immediately.
The SEPA instant transfer (SCT Inst) credits in under 10 seconds, 24/7 including holidays, and is irrevocable. Through a bank the cost per transaction is often between €1 and €5 according to bank price lists; through open banking (PIS) the cost drops: in the RoxPay list the instant transfer starts from €0.13 + 0.10% per transaction, with a €100,000 limit per A2A operation.
The operational difference for the treasury: funds available in seconds even on weekends, immediate confirmation of the outcome, no cheques or direct debits to chase.
Reconciliation and group payments
The bottleneck of supplier payments is not the transfer, it is reconciliation. With systems that manage a unique reference for every transaction, the link between invoice and payment runs from code, with webhooks confirming the outcome: the matching between schedule and bank statement becomes automatic.
For corporate groups, virtual IBANs allow assigning a dedicated identifier to every supplier, branch or legal entity, keeping a single collection account for cash pooling: fund distribution is managed via API without manual month-end transfers. The use case is documented in the [account-to-account B2B guide](/en/resources/account-to-account-b2b-bank-transfers).
For those running marketplaces or platforms with onboarded suppliers, the A2A API automates scheduled payouts with per-transaction reconciliation.
How RoxPay handles supplier payments
RoxPay is a payment gateway with open banking: through the A2A API your company starts instant transfers from its own business account to the supplier's IBAN, with PSD2 authentication (Strong Customer Authentication) managed by the system and funds credited in under 10 seconds, 24/7.
RoxPay is not a bank: it does not open bank accounts and does not issue credit cards. Payments start from the existing business account of your company, and the provider handles the regulated part (PSD2, SCA, antifraud checks) returning a single interface connectable to ERP and accounting systems.
The €100,000 limit per A2A transaction covers most B2B invoices; for amounts above the threshold the ordinary transfer remains the option. The guide on [account-to-account payments via open banking](/en/resources/account-to-account-b2b-bank-transfers) details the technical flow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a company have to pay a supplier?
In commercial relationships between companies the reference term of the payments law (Italian D.Lgs. 231/2002) is 30 days, with the derogation up to 60 days provided for SMEs and extended several times by the legislator: check the current expiry with your adviser. The effective term depends on the contract signed with the supplier.
How much does an instant transfer cost?
It depends on the channel: through a bank the instant transfer often costs €1-5 per transaction according to bank price lists; through open banking (PIS) in the RoxPay list it starts from €0.13 + 0.10% per transaction, with credit in under 10 seconds and 24/7.
How can supplier payments be sped up?
Three levers: automate the schedule starting from electronic invoices received via SDI, use the instant transfer for urgent payments (credit in under 10 seconds even on weekends), and plan early payments in exchange for better commercial terms with suppliers.
Is a dedicated bank account needed to pay suppliers via open banking?
No. The payment via open banking (PIS) starts from the existing bank account of your company: the sender's IBAN and the beneficiary's are enough. RoxPay is not a bank and does not open bank accounts: it manages the payment start and reconciliation.
How do you automate the reconciliation of supplier payments?
With a unique reference on every transaction and webhooks confirming the outcome: the management system links invoice and payment automatically, with no manual checks on the bank statement. RoxPay's A2A API is designed for this flow, integrable with ERP and accounting systems.
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